No Kings Strikes a Responsive Chord - Rob Horowitz
Rob Horowitz, MINDSETTER™
No Kings Strikes a Responsive Chord - Rob Horowitz
The even more impressive turnout on Saturday--arguably the most well-attended protest against a presidential administration in American history--was in large measure a response to President Trump’s accelerating abuses of power. Over the past several months, the president has stepped up his blatant flouting of the democratic values that most Americans share. Shredding the post-Watergate norm of a president staying arm’s length from Justice Department prosecution decisions, for instance, President Trump directly ordered the prosecutions of political opponents, and a compliant attorney general has delivered indictments, of which 2-out-of-3 so far were pursued despite the belief of career prosecutors that there was insufficient evidence of a crime. As an expert on authoritarianism, Anne Applebaum points out, Trump is replacing the rule of law with rule by law. In an ethos all too reminiscent of the Stalin era in the Soviet Union, the value of blind justice is being replaced with a “give me the man and I will give you the case against him” approach.
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Additionally, the president is seeking to expand the deployment of National Guard troops in American cities over the objections of the various states’ governors and the cities’ mayors, arguing in court that it is to protect ICE facilities and to the public that it is somehow a crime control measure. This counterproductive militarization on American soil for little or no real reason is unpopular with the American public and another authoritarian tell.
Similarly, the masking of ICE agents who have detained hundreds of American citizens(presumably mistakenly), as well as deporting undocumented immigrants with no criminal record to a notorious El Salvadorian prison without due process, is not in keeping with our values. That is why despite the fact that Donald Trump has been undeniably successful in severely restricting illegal immigration at the border, most voters disapprove of his performance on immigration overall. And lawlessly wielding the power of the federal government to shake down colleges and universities, media companies, law firms, and individuals who refuse to get in line continues apace.
The plentiful American flags and the broad range of people of all ages, and ethnic and racial backgrounds marching peacefully was a powerful visual refutation of the White House’s attempt to characterize “No Kings” day as a “hate America rally,” comprised of Hamas supporters, domestic terrorists, communists, left-wing lunatics and wackos. The level of pure vitriol Mr. Trump, the speaker and the MAGA faithful poured on top of the protesters, leading up to Saturday, providing an unintentional turnout assist, as well as in the wake of the event, revealed their worry about its political impact.
Contrary to the White House’s attempt to say that concerns about Mr. Trump’s authoritarian actions are limited to a small slice of out-of-the-mainstream left wingers, these concerns reflect the views of most Americans. Two-in-three Americans (66%) say that Donald Trump “improperly used his office to punish those he doesn’t like,” according to a recent Pew Research Center poll. Along the same lines, more than 6-in-10 Americans (62%) believe he “improperly used his office to encourage federal investigations of his political opponents.” On another topic also characteristic of authoritarian leaders, more than 6-in-10 (61%) say he “improperly used his office to enrich himself or his friends and family.”
“No Kings is more than just a slogan; it is the foundation our nation was built upon,” the organizers of the protest proclaimed on the event’s website. “Born in the streets, shouted by millions, carried on posters and chants, it echoes from city blocks to rural town squares, uniting people across this country to fight dictatorship together.”
Those ringing words were at the heart of Saturday. “We the people” shook off cynicism and political exhaustion, showing up to reclaim our democracy. The task ahead is to take the hope, energy, and inspiration generated by “No Kings” and turn it into sustained political action, using all legal levers at our disposal to fight the Trump administration’s authoritarianism every step of the way.