Over the weekend, a series of “No Kings” protests swept across the country, aimed at rebuking President Donald Trump and what activists claim is a slide toward authoritarianism. But the optics, energy, and public reception paint a very different picture — one where the movement fizzled, and the U.S. Army’s 250th birthday parade stole the spotlight.
The irony wasn’t lost on observers. As The Atlantic’s Jonathan Chait proudly tweeted about the so-called “success” of the demonstrations, critics were quick to point out that the protest’s central claim — rejecting a monarchy — was attacking a strawman. The United States hasn’t had a king in nearly 250 years. The protest, then, was less about policy or reality and more about liberal performance art: loud on message, short on meaning.
The most biting ridicule came from social media users who noticed the demographic makeup of many protest groups. One commentator joked that the assisted living center came out strong, referencing the visibly older crowds in several cities.
Salt Lake City seniors heading out for a #NoKingsProtest in front of their assisted living facility bright and early this morning. pic.twitter.com/lhksec7O95
— Stephanie Mencimer (@smencimer) June 14, 2025
In sharp contrast, the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary parade in Washington, D.C. drew large crowds, high-profile attendees, and millions of viewers online. This wasn’t some hastily assembled march; it was a celebration of America’s founding — and the very idea of resisting monarchy. In other words, it was the true “No Kings” event, rooted in historical substance rather than reactive slogans.
But many on the Left couldn’t separate the military parade from their disdain for Trump. Hillary Clinton’s now-notorious tweet slammed the event as “Trump’s military parade,” missing entirely that it was a tribute to the Army’s centuries of service. She later restricted replies to avoid backlash — though quote tweets lit up with corrections and criticism.
Then came Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), who delivered one of the more alarming statements: calling for Trump to be evicted, ejected, rejected, impeached, tried, convicted, and start all over again. Set aside the redundancy — this is coming from the same party that already tried the “impeach, convict” strategy. Twice. It failed both times.
Unhinged preemptive-pardon recipient Jamie Raskin yells for the impeachment and conviction of Donald Trump:
“EVICT. EJECT. REJECT. IMPEACH. TRY. CONVICT. And start all over again!” pic.twitter.com/e7TDwyvmd9
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) June 14, 2025
The chants of “Trump must go now” echoed through the protests, as if sheer repetition could undo the results of a democratic election. Ironically, this rhetoric from self-styled anti-fascists sounded suspiciously like they were calling to overturn the will of the voters — a point not lost on critics who questioned how the message aligns with any claim to “democracy.”
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”> Thousands of <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/NoKings?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#NoKings</a> protesters chant “Trump must go now” and “in the name of humanity” as they prepare to march to Lafayette Square <a href=”https://t.co/qkP6GAj318″>pic.twitter.com/qkP6GAj318</a></p>— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) <a href=”https://twitter.com/DailyCaller/status/1933950511214211373?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>June 14, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
Despite all the noise, nothing changed. Trump remains in office. The Army parade dominated media attention with tens of millions of views online. And Democrats, including Clinton, continue to fixate on a man they’ve failed to remove at every turn.
Organizers of the protest claim over 5 million people participated, a figure that is difficult to verify and likely inflated. What is easy to verify? The White House’s parade video alone garnered nearly 16 million views. Add that to numerous other sources, and it’s clear: the audience for the parade dwarfed the protests — not just in numbers, but in impact.
