orange monarch

Yesterday, I attended the “No Kings” protest in Boston. Though I don’t support the current administration, I had to grapple with a critical question: Why attend a “No Kings” protest when Trump won both the popular and the electoral vote? The chant “Show me what democracy looks like/This is what democracy looks like!” seems to imply that this crowd of protesters represented “democracy”, but the results of an election do not.

When I was deciding to go, I confronted this seeming contradiction, and thought about whether I’d be able to speak to it if confronted. I found a satisfying answer, protested per my First Amendment rights, and want to share what answers I landed on.

Grappling with election conspiracies

Because election conspiracies have floated around on both sides of the political aisle (albeit, one in a mainstream manner, one not), I think it’s critical to vocalize my stance. My reason for going to the “No Kings” protest is not contingent on the 2024 election results being invalid, nor is that a theory I subscribe to.

I am vehemently opposed to the election conspiracies of 2020 and 2024. I’ve had people send me countless documentaries, “proofs”, if-this-then-why questions, and “abnormalities”, and I’ve contemplated them in good faith. However, both situations are pretty easy to logically hand-wave:

  • 2020: I have so many examples to explain why this is fake, but there’s one that has stumped every MAGA supporter I’ve ever proposed it to. The biggest blow to Trump’s conspiracy came when he won in 2024; there’s no logical case to be made that Biden was able to unfairly usurp the presidency in 2020 while Trump was president, but that Biden unable to keep his hold as president in 2024.
  • 2024: Kamala herself hasn’t endorsed any of these theories. The upper echelons of leadership and the progressive sub-factions haven’t touched it. Trump said odd things at rallies implying he would cheat, but I don’t think you can maintain that he’s a habitual motor-mouthing liar and also claim that he should be taken seriously in this exact instance. And, lastly, claiming the election was stolen from Kamala ignores the horrifically messy process that led to her being the Democratic candidate in the first place, which really, was the larger problem for the Democrats this past election.

I could write about both circumstances more in-depth, but for now, this is sufficient to explain my thinking for this next part.

So, why “no kings”?

The crux of the messaging of this rally isn’t in conspiracies or accusations of electoral unfairness, but rather, the path Trump took to get elected and the path he’s taken since.

The January 6, 2021 coup attempt should have been disqualifying on Constitutional grounds, and short of that, it’s immensely disappointing that the US right-wing chose him again to represent them. He telegraphed his inability to accept defeat in 2016, when Roger Stone registered the “Stop the Steal” URL prior to Trump saying he would refuse to concede if he lost, and they merely recycled it for 2020. Republican voters were openly and trivially manipulated on this matter.

Additionally, since taking office for his second term, Trump has:

  • Defied lawful court orders, spurring a constitutional crisis with the Judicial branch
  • Pardoned lawfully convicted criminals merely for pledging fealty
  • Abused the power of our armed forces to hold American cities hostage
  • Bypassed the Legislative branch to launch a senseless trade war versus the entire world
  • Distributed or withheld funding based on the political views of targeted institutions
  • Politicized science, creating a quasi-religious alt-science following in its place
  • Threatened sitting Democrats with raids and investigations for vocalizing dissent
  • Floated the possibility of running for a third term

All of these measures are massively problematic and consistent of a ruler who thinks themselves a king, and this is where I take issue. This is what I protested against, and core American ideals, however imperfectly implemented through history, are in direct opposition to the actions of this administration.

No kings!

Therefore, the “No Kings” protest absolutely has a place in resistive efforts against the Trump administration. The messaging is consistent, grounded in facts, and has a clear goal. When commentators turn to the election results to try to discredit the movement, there is a tacit hypocrisy at play, on top of ignoring the actual grievances of the movement: When Trump loses, they grant themselves permission to support violent efforts to overturn it, but when Trump wins, they demonize peaceful shows of opposition with straw-man arguments and distraction discourse.