While President Donald Trump and his administration brushed off the ‘No Kings’ nationwide protests rebuking the president over the weekend, Democrats lauded the protesters for standing up for democracy.
The protest marked at least the second time ‘No Kings’ rallies have been organized across the country in major cities, including Washington, New York City and Los Angeles, since Trump took office for the second time, and organizers claim the protests are in opposition to his authoritarian policies.
Meanwhile, Trump pushed back on the description of ‘king,’ as he and other Republicans poked fun at the millions participating in the rallies.
‘I’m not a king,’ Trump told reporters Sunday on Air Force One. ‘I work my ass off to make our country great. That’s all it is. I’m not a king at all.’
Trump also characterized the protests as inconsequential, and said that those who participated didn’t accurately reflect the people who make up the U.S.
‘The demonstrations were very small, very ineffective and the people were whacked out,’ Trump said Sunday. ‘When you look at those people, those are not representative of the people of our country.’
Despite Trump’s rejection of being labeled a king, the official White House social media accounts previously posted an image in February of Trump wearing a crown with a caption claiming ‘long live the king.’ Trump also reposted an AI-generated video that Vice President JD Vance originally shared, depicting Trump placing a crown on his head and drawing a sword.
Additionally, Trump shared another AI-generated video of him donning a crown in a fighter jet over New York City, unloading what appeared to be feces on the protesters.
Meanwhile, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., said that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. needed a distraction from the government shutdown that started Oct. 1, although Johnson did admit that the protests turned out to be a ‘violent-free, free speech exercise.’
‘They needed a stunt,’ Johnson said in an interview with ABC Sunday. ‘They needed a show. Chuck Schumer has — needs cover right now. He’s closed the government down because he needs political cover, and this was a part of it.’
However, Democrats said the protests were an opportunity to stand up for democracy. For example, Schumer said that there are ‘no dictators’ in the U.S., and that ‘we won’t allow Trump to keep eroding our democracy.’
‘Dictators evolve when good people of all different beliefs and backgrounds stay silent,’ Schumer said in a social media post on Saturday. ‘This No Kings Day says we will not stay silent.’
Additionally, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi shared a video clip of her dismantling a plastic crown, appearing to harken back to when she ripped Trump’s State of the Union address in 2020.
‘We’re gonna tear up the crown!’ Pelosi said in the brief clip, which she shared on social media with the caption: ‘No crown. #NoKings!’
Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., also weighed in, claiming ‘we said ‘hell no’ to kings, and reminded the nation and the world what patriotism looks like.’
‘From our nation’s capitol to cities across California, millions stood shoulder to shoulder to say that our democracy is worth fighting for, that our voices will not be silent, and that we will not sit back and let a wannabe king take our freedoms,’ Schiff said Saturday to accompany several photos of himself at the protest in Washington. ‘Proud to stand with you.’
Additionally, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said the protests were reflective of the democratic process in the U.S.
‘This is what democracy looks like!’ Murray said in a Saturday social media post. ‘We use our voices and our votes. NO KINGS IN AMERICA!’