Republicans mostly silent as millions of Americans protest Trump on No Kings day

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Guardian

Sat 18 Oct 2025 18.34 EDT
Last modified on Sat 18 Oct 2025 20.05 EDT


Republican voices were mostly silent as No Kings rallies and marches against Trump administration policies unfurled on Saturday, many in the spirit of a street party that countered the “hate America” depiction advanced by senior members of the party.

Instead of provocation, there were marching bands, huge banners with “we the people” references to the US constitution, and protesters wearing inflatable costumes, particularly frogs, which have emerged as a sign of resistance.

It was the third mass mobilization since Trump’s return to the White House and came against the backdrop of a government shutdown that not only has closed federal programs and services but is testing the core balance of power, as an aggressive executive confronts Congress and the courts in ways that protest organizers warn are a slide toward authoritarianism.

In comments Friday, Donald Trump opposed the protest organizers’ characterization of him as a would-be monarch. “They say they’re referring to me as a king. I’m not a king,” Trump said in a Fox News interview. Later Friday, a Trump campaign social media account mocked the protests by posting a computer-generated video of the president clothed like a monarch, wearing a crown and waving from a balcony.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/18/no-kings-protest-rally-republicans

[Champp]

1. Why do the Republicans hate America?

Republican moral collapse is complete.

Republicans will be spewing today on the Sunday BlabFests, for otherwise magats will not know what to think.

[littlemissmartypants]

3. Because they are F N mean and crazy.

I was verbally abused yesterday by three fellow musicians (two claim to be "Christian" musicians) on my way out of a group I'm in, on my way to the ❌️👑 gathering. We had a drum line. I wish I didn't even mention it. Mean people suck is an understatement.

[OldBaldy1701E]

7. I hope you laughed at their every word.

Make sure to point at them when you laugh.

Remember, this is the best thing you can do to any MAGAt.

[hunter]

20. Yesterday I saw drag queens blowing kisses to the guy in the truck who flipped them off.

He looked angry.

[berniesandersmittens]

21. one of my favorite signs from yesterday:

No Kings
Yas Queens

(Yas Queens colorfully bedazzled)

[Scarlet Begalas]

16. Marty pants

I've seen enough nasty comments from professed Christians on Facebook to not trust anybody that claims to be one.

To be fair, there are Christians that "walk the walk," and they're highly unlikely to be the ones that support Trump.

[BlueWavePsych]

9. Good question ...

[Initech]

22. It's because of the blab fests that they hate America.

I can't believe people choose to listen to shit like Hannity for four straight hours every day.

[Harker]

2. Trumpsky should be boasting about crowd size.

[littlemissmartypants]

4. They will probably...

Try to recycle the crowd photos later and claim them as his audience for something or other great, big, beautiful whatever.

[mwmisses4289]

5. They have to sleep on it for a few days, thinking up lying spin is really hard work.

[durablend]

6. Where's the images of all the cities ablaze and in ruins?

Or is it too early yet?

[BumRushDaShow]

8. There have been a couple trolls

who self-destructed on DU yesterday after posting with manic and psychotic outrage, the same tired images from Portland in 2020. Apparently that is all they have until they get their AI crap generated!

[calimary]

10. Well, having attended a rally in Portland, yesterday,

I can happily sneer at their “outrage”.

The rally I attended had crowd estimates of 1000 - 1500 people. ALL peaceful. ALL friendly. ALL determined to make a public statement opposing trump.

Lots of camaraderie out there all day. Not even a hint of any violence.

[suegeo]

11. Did you see any bubbles?

I saw lots of pretty bubbles at the demonstration I attended yesterday. There were plenty of American flags. Auntie Fah was there.

People handing out Halloween candy. Frogs. Men in chicken costumes.

I compare and contrast these images with January 6. Republicans are very angry & miserable people.

[DownriverDem]

23. Me too!

Wyandotte Michigan!

[calimary]

24. I saw lots of EVERYTHING! And ALL of it GOOD!

No. On second thought, not good, more like Absolutely Freakin’ TERRIFIC!!!

I can’t say enough about what a total upper it was! Went with a friend, ran into a few more friends, but by the time we finally left, it felt like the whole doggone crowd was new friends!

There was such a great vibe, all day! Totally nonviolent. The general good mood and the sense of enjoyment, fellowship, and genuine caring about each other’s rights and wellbeing and the preservation of both! Just a BIGTIME damn fine time was had by all, or at least that sure is how it looked. Literally EVERYBODY was there. Every kind of human. Every color of skin, every color of hair, every size and shape AND styling! Every age and level of capability. Every kind of clothing and personal adornment. Tattoos and bare unmarked skin, both. Everybody bound together by the same love of liberty and justice for ALL. Just a Damn Fine Day! The kind of day, and gathering, that I hope to see A LOT more of in the future, both near AND FAR!

Just a whole rooting’ tootin’ big-ass-celebrational thoroughly boffo day!

I came away from the event with one over-arching question: when’s the next one?!?! (With a side of Where and How Soon!)

[Zorro]

12. And...

where is any reporting on today's New York Times homepage about yesterday's No Kings demonstrations?

[ificandream]

13. Did you miss this? It was on the front page of the digital edition

Republicans Know How Vulnerable Trump Is. The Attacks on No Kings Prove It.

By Jamelle Bouie
Opinion Columnist
Millions of Americans are gathering across the country on Saturday — including in Washington, D.C. — to protest the monarchical pretensions of the Trump administration.

In the four months since the last No Kings protests, President Trump has gone even further down the road of claiming plenary authority over the executive branch. He has continued to claim the right to fire anyone he pleases, to cancel or spend federal funds outside congressional appropriations and to launch lethal strikes against foreign civilians without explicit authorization from Congress or evidence of imminent threat to Americans.

The president has tried to leverage the power of the federal government against his political opponents and legal adversaries, sending the Justice Department after James Comey, a former director of the F.B.I.; Attorney General Letitia James of New York; and one of Trump’s former national security advisers, John Bolton. Trump also wants to use the I.R.S. and other agencies to harass liberal donors and left-leaning foundations. He has even tried to revive lèse-majesté, threatening critics of his administration and its allies with legal and political sanctions. With Trump, it’s as if you crossed the bitter paranoia of Richard Nixon with the absolutist ideology of Charles I.

Today’s protesters, in other words, are standing for nothing less than the anti-royal and republican foundations of American democracy. For the leaders of the Republican Party, however, these aren’t citizens exercising their fundamental right to dissent but subversives out to undermine the fabric of the nation.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/18/opinion/no-kings-protests-republicans-trump.html

[Zorro]

15. And...

I said reporting, not opinion pieces. There is a difference.

[ificandream]

18. I'm well aware of that. And yes, there was a front page story. You can see it on the white paper edition of the Times.

[Zorro]

19. And...

I said today's NYT homepage, not yesterday's.

It's apparently obvious to most that the NYT has relegated yesterday's demonstrations as "yesterday's news" and has moved on to more "important" news...

[ificandream]

17. And this?

It was on the front page just below the fold on the white paper edition of the Times viewed digitally.
Link: extension://moflefeaglahaffdcfllaceiidcfmpdb/lib/pdfjs/web/viewer.html?file=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic01.nyt.com%2Fimages%2F2025%2F10%2F19%2Fnytfrontpage%2Fscan.pdf

‘No More Trump!’: Protesters Denouncing the President Unite Across the Country
Large crowds turned out at “No Kings” rallies on Saturday that took place in large cities and small towns nationwide.

By Corina Knoll
Published Oct. 18, 2025
Updated Oct. 19, 2025, 8:09 a.m. ET

They were teachers and lawyers, military veterans and fired government employees. Children and grandmothers, students and retirees.

Arriving in droves across the country in major cities and small towns, they appeared in costumes, blared music, brandished signs, hoisted American flags and cheered at the honks of passing cars.

The vibe in most places was irreverent but peaceful and family-friendly. The purpose, however, was focused. Each crowd, everywhere, shared the same mantra: No kings.

Collectively, the daylong mass demonstration against the Trump administration on Saturday, held in thousands of locations, condemned a president that the protesters view as acting like a monarch.Many had attended a similar event in June, but the months since had seen President Trump make a dizzying array of changes in quick succession.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/18/us/protests-trump-no-kings.html

[Scarlet Begalas]

14. Mostly Silent

They're only mostly silent because they have to coordinate their talking points first.