Republicans mostly silent as millions of Americans protest Trump on No Kings Day | Protests (United States)
Republican voices were mostly silent as “No Kings” rallies and rallies against Trump administration policies took off on Saturday, many in the spirit of a street party at odds with the “hate America” portrayal offered by senior party members.
Instead of provocation, there were marching bands, huge banners bearing the phrase “We the People” in reference to the US Constitution, and demonstrators wore inflatable costumes, especially frogs, which appeared as a sign of resistance.
In comments Friday, Donald Trump disputed protest organizers’ description of him as a would-be king.
“They say they refer to me as king. I’m not king,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News.
At a White House event on Wednesday, Trump tried to downplay the “No Kings” events. “I hear a few people [are] “By the way, they will be there, but their day is coming and they want to spend their day in the sun,” he said. Trump is spending the weekend at his home in Mar-a-Lago, Florida.
In a counter-programming move, J.D. Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth were attending a live-fire amphibious capabilities demonstration at Camp Pendleton in California to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the US Marine Corps.
However, a plan to fire live artillery shells on a nearby highway drew objections from Gov. Gavin Newsom, who said it forced the California Highway Patrol to close part of a major highway through Southern California for safety reasons.
“The president is putting his ego before the buck with this disregard for public safety,” the Democratic governor said in a statement. “Firing live ammunition on a busy highway is not only wrong, it is dangerous.”
Vance The comment was posted on X In reference to a meeting between the Democratic candidate for mayor of New York, Zahran Mamdani, and Siraj Wahhaj, the imam of piety who He appeared on a list of unindicted conspirators At the 1993 World Trade Center bombing trial in New York.
“I have been reliably informed that Democrats oppose any kind of political violence, so I look forward to universal condemnation of Zahran Mamdani for campaigning with an unindicted co-conspirator in a terrorist plot that led to the deaths of 6 New Yorkers,” Vance wrote.
Fox News, meanwhile, Run the report Claiming that organizers involved in the global uprising to destroy the State of Israel have moved to join the “No Kings” protests in New York under the organizing groups “UAW Workers for Palestine” and “New York City Workers for Palestine.”
The right-leaning outlet also reported on Friday that foundations linked to George Soros were funding the No Kings protests via A $3 million grant to Indivisible regulator “To support the social welfare activities of the beneficiary.”
The relative silence of Republican leaders on Saturday was in contrast to efforts last week to cast the second “No Kings” Day as a “hate-for-America” day populated by Hamas sympathizers and a reason why Democrats are delaying a deal to end the government shutdown, now in its 18th day.
Republican leaders disparaged the marchers as “communists” and “Marxists,” and claimed that centrist Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who marched in New York, were being held political hostage by the far left.
“I encourage you to watch what we are calling the ‘Hate for America’ rally that will happen on Saturday,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana.
“Let’s see who shows up for it,” Johnson added, referring to groups that include “Antifa types,” people who “hate capitalism” and “Marxists in full display.”