Autumn of 2025 has been great so far. The weather has jumped back and forth between cool, crisp, sweater-weather and an occasional warm October day that reminds me of Indian Summers from my childhood (am I still allowed to use that term?). A delicate peace has been reached in the Middle East, inflation is down, the cost of living has recovered from four years of torturous Bide-omics, Trump is in the White House, and the right controls the House, Senate, a majority of state governorships, and the SCOTUS.
“But Luke,” you might say, “what about our friends on the Left? Have we checked in on them lately?” Funny you should ask! They are taking to the streets, screaming at the sky, and insisting that in America, we will NOT tolerate leaders who act like monarchs. “No Kings!” They screech. “Hey Hey! Ho ho! Donald Trump has got to go!” the chants ring out through autumn air – but nobody is listening - the right is too busy continuing its efforts to mend America via the mandate they were given last November.
But as my Facebook feed filled with dying mainstream media outlets desperately attempting to convince me that a new monumental movement was afoot via the No Kings protests, a thought struck me; do these people really, genuinely, consistently stand up against politicians who act like kings, or are they just throwing another tantrum?
That thought is the inspiration for today’s piece – so let’s examine some events from recent history as a litmus test. Join me as we review the No Kings movement (spoiler alert, it’s a tantrum – board up your store windows).
Several months ago Donald Trump’s White House took to Instagram to troll the left with a post which quickly earned the status of infamy – a mock-up image of him wearing a crown with the title “Long Live the King”. This, coupled with the sarcastic remark Trump made on the 2024 campaign trail, sent the Left into a seemingly irrecoverable tailspin. When Trump joked to Hannity, saying, “I said: ‘No, no, no, other than day one. We’re closing the border and we’re drilling, drilling, drilling. After that, I’m not a dictator.’”
He was clearly using his New York, tongue-in-cheek, manner to explain that he would use his legal Executive Order authority to ensure American energy independence was supported and our southern border was defended. Trump delivered on both promises and the legality of what he did has stood under American law – no dictatorial factors were at play. But reality has never stopped the left – and thus, the No Kings movement was born. “Trump seriously thinks he is a King!” they began to declare. Some were angry. Some were scared. All were deluded.
When it comes to the claim that the Left will absolutely not accept any leader who acts in an authoritarian manner, the first person we should consider is Barack Obama. The Obama years of 2008-2016 are often touted by Leftwingers as the drama-free, scandal-free, peak of Americanism. But the truth is that the only reason a person might genuinely believe this nonsense is if that person were living in a Leftist echo-chamber during the Obama years – and millions of Americans experienced that very phenomenon.
Even many on the right were stuck, unintentionally and unknowingly, in a Leftwing echo-chamber. You see, until Trump, many on the right were deceived by the false belief that the mainstream news existed to share unfiltered, unbiased, facts. The belief was that truth mattered, and the press was generally a line of defense against misinformed citizenry. Oh, how wrong we were. It turns out that the only reason the Obama years might be remembered as scandal-free is that the media was playing defense and running interference for the Democrat Party.
The truth is that Barack Obama used a drone to execute an American citizen without due process and while right-wing talking heads addressed the issue, the left remained silent. Not a single No Kings protest was to be found.
The truth is that Barack Obama ran thousands of guns to and for the Mexican drug cartels – guns which have been used to target both Mexicans and Americans. Even after this scandal, the No Kings protests were entirely absent.
The truth is that Barack Obama leveraged the IRS to target groups he viewed as political opposition and used the FBI to spy on the Trump Campaign – a truly heinous act showing unheard of abuses of power. And still, not a single No Kings protest was sparked among the Left.
Uncle Joe. The return to normalcy. Our harmless, cool, elderly president who wore aviator shades. The answer to Trump’s childishness – an adult back in office. These were the types of things that were said about Good Ol’ Quid Pro Joe as the Leftwing media cabal attempted to sell Biden to the American people. He was supposed to be a harmless, wise, grandfatherly figure… the problem is that Biden ruled as a wanna-be dictator.
Reality shows us that Joe Biden did his absolute best to strongarm the American citizenry by using OSHA to mandate the investigatory COVID vaccine. This unconstitutional move was thankfully blocked by SCOTUS, and yet, not a single No Kings protest occurred during this blatant violation of American rights.
Reality shows us that the Biden White House overtly violated free speech laws by pressuring social media companies to flag, censor, and/or shadow-ban speech which it found objectionable. After Bidens Press Secretary, Jen Psaki, openly bragged about violating free speech online, the Left jumped to defend our American liberty. No Kings rallies popped up across the nation, showing that justice is truly blind… just kidding. Not a single Leftwing No Kings rally happened. Not even one.
Reality shows us that Job Biden was a rules for thee but not for me President, making (and promptly breaking) mask mandates for federal property. Biden also ignored and sought to violate a clear ruling by the SCOTUS regarding student loan forgiveness and, most egregiously, he used the DOJ to target political opposition, going as far as to approve the use of deadly force in a raid of Donald Trump’s residence. In the wake of Biden’s abuse of power, No Kings rallies were strangely absent.
Our most recent example of an opportunity for the Left to hold to their No Kings moral standard is found not in a King, but in a would-be Queen. Though Kamala Harris never won the highest office in our land, she was a single step and a heartbeat away from being our 47th President. With that in mind, surely the left held her to the No Kings standard – right?
Kamala Harris was selected by a group of democrat elites who chose to circumnavigate the American process of voting in primaries. Rather than allowing US citizens to select their candidate to represent the Democrat party, the DNC circled up a small group of elitists and functionally told the American people, “Kamala will be your 2024 candidate”. As an answer to this authoritarian overreach, the Left responded by not throwing a single No Kings protest.
During her time as a prosecutor, Kamala hypocritically targeted and punished hundreds of individuals for doing something she had done herself – smoking Marijuana. This move of authoritarian self-preservation didn’t seem noteworthy enough to spark any No Kings – or No Queens – protests from the Left.
In celebration of the No Kings protests this weekend, several leftists have proclaimed that The People Have Spoken! And in a manner of speaking, they are correct – the people have spoken. They spoke last year, when the right won the Electoral College, Popular Vote, House, Senate, and retained control of the majority of Governorships and the SCOTUS.
If you, like the majority of the Left, remained silent for the list of examples above (and many others not listed), then I am going to suggest the following: You might not dislike the idea of monarchs in America, you might just be upset that your team lost and be responding as the TV instructed you to. Next time, rather than screaming, “No Kings”, just be intellectually honest and say, “No Kings – Terms and Conditions May Apply!”
