The latest iteration of the No Kings Day protest is being hailed as the largest peaceful protest in American history. Oct. 18 saw more than 2,700 events held across all 50 states, with immeasurable support online from those who were unable to attend in person. Average estimates by the major news networks say over seven million people were out around the country displaying their dissent for the Trump administration and its policies.
While social media posts and reports released throughout the day displayed a story of peace and lament, the narrative pushed by the White House and conservative news outlets was that this event was outright “un-American.” Speaker of the House Mike Johnson went as far to propose the event should be called the “Hate America Rally” as opposed to “No Kings Day,” and the crowds were full of “the pro-Hamas wing” and “Antifa people.”
President Trump was visiting his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida that day, but his account on Truth Social made a number of posts, one of the being an AI-generated video of him wearing a jeweled crown while flying a fighter jet emblazoned with “KING TRUMP” and dumping human excrement on people attending the protests. Call me crazy, but I think that is an entirely irresponsible and juvenile way for the President of the United States to respond to millions of Americans protesting his actions.
I believe Trump’s reactions to this “No Kings Day” only further justify the reasons why participants felt the need to take to the streets. A number of high-profile Republicans have excused the artificially generated posts calling them merely satirical, but from a professionalism standpoint I still think they are entirely unacceptable. As has been the topic of much discussion in the last number of years, the more direct link that social media has provided between the president and all other Americans is unprecedented. No other president has taken advantage of these platforms to the extent that Trump has, and I cannot say I support that shift. Social media makes it far easier for someone in such a position as Trump to make more promises that they do not intend to keep, and make more claims that they are unable to back up.
One response to the events of Oct. 18 voiced by many critics is that everyone involved was a paid protester, all estimated seven million of them sent there by the Democratic party and ‘Antifa’ to create political chaos in this country. Could it possibly be that No Kings Day was just a prime example of Americans exercising their First Amendment rights?
The title, “No Kings Day,” carries a variety of historical references and connotations. Mainly, the very Revolutionary War that liberated this country from the English crown came as a response to overreach by King George III. The colonies were determined to prevent a monarch from ruling over this country ever again, one of the key reasons why so many governmental checks and balances were included in the U.S. Constitution. Furthermore, this nation’s founders also built upon their initial writings with the First Amendment, through which Americans have these rights to freedom of speech and freedom to protest peacefully.
In a number of places, the 1940 song “This Land is Your Land” by Woody Guthrie became an anthem for the protesters. Though the lyrics have been criticized for the historical context of who has lived on this land, attendees used it as a way to celebrate the widespread beauty of this nation that is currently under threat by countless policies of the Trump administration. Videos shared across social media displayed the song being embraced in all sorts of forms ranging from a banjo bluegrass style solo in Eureka, Kansas to a full marching band rendition in Washington DC.
A story shared by NPR highlights that in Macon, Georgia, attendees joined together in singing “The Story of Tonight” from the musical “Hamilton.” This nod to the founding fathers of the United States highlights the importance of sacrifice and solidarity now for the preservation of freedom tomorrow. If that sacrifice of today means taking a Saturday to march around in an inflatable costume as was seen time and time again on the 18th, then so be it. Our home is worth the fight.
I leave you with words by the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas from 1947, coincidentally written soon after the largest anti-fascist fight (WWII) in history.
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.