At dawn on October 10, 2025, House Speaker Mike Johnson went on Fox News and denounced the upcoming No Kings rally as a “hate America” event. He claimed it would be populated by the “pro-Hamas wing” and “ANTIFA people,” accused Democrats of selling T-shirts to support it, and ominously warned that the government would stay shut down because lawmakers can’t face their “rabid base.”
Johnson’s language wasn’t accidental. It was an explicit effort to smear a rising protest movement demanding accountability and to frame dissent as disloyalty. Calling Americans who plan to gather on the National Mall “anti-America” is not rhetorical flair—it is a warning: show dissent at your peril.
Yet what is No Kings? It’s not the fringe theocratic mob Johnson seems to think it is. It is (or was originally) a broad anti-authoritarian movement born from the fear that the republic is being warped into a crown. Its rallies are not Christian nationalist coups-in-waiting. They are civic pushback. And so Johnson’s charge flips the script: he recasts the guardians of the constitution as traitors and the meek as monarchists.
Johnson’s Attack: Protest = Treason
When Johnson labeled No Kings a “Hate America rally,” he weaponized patriotism. He didn’t say the protest was misguided or extreme—he said it hated America. He mashed into the same bowl the movement’s name with “pro-Hamas,” with “ANTIFA,” insinuating that those who reject kings are foreign sympathizers or insurrectionists. He even said that Democrats were staging a delay: they intentionally refuse to reopen government until after the protest, because they’re afraid of facing their own base.
This is not just denigration. It’s preemptive character assassination. Before one sign is raised, speaker Johnson already brands the crowd an enemy legion. He did so from the seat of power, amplifying the lie through cable studios and framing networks.
If dissent is recast as hate, then protest becomes prosecutable. If citizens who demand constitutional order are labeled “hate America,” then the term “tyrant” ceases to have real force—and the only real crime is truth itself.
What No Kings Actually Means: The Day Democracy Roars Back
Contrary to Johnson’s caricature, No Kings is not a fringe religious takeover plan. It is a deliberately named protest movement designed to push back against creeping executive dominance, militarism, and the cult of personality.
- No Kings protests took place on June 14, 2025, across more than 2,100 cities in the U.S. The timing was symbolic: Flag Day, Trump’s birthday, and the day of a federal military parade. The movement was a message: we reject monarchy in any guise. Wikipedia
- Organizers came from progressive coalitions: 50501 (“50 protests, 50 states, one movement”), Indivisible, labor groups, civil liberties advocates. The rally’s aims were secular, not religious. Wikipedia+1
- Their grievances: the militarized spectacle of government, the abuse of executive power, the hollowing of institutions, the erosion of democracy. They weren’t calling for one faith’s rule—they were demanding accountability.
- In cities like Houston, tens of thousands joined peaceably, holding signs, marching, chanting “No Coliseum. No Crowns. No Kings.” The protests were overwhelmingly nonviolent and deeply symbolic. Houston Chronicle+1
In short: No Kings is not Christian Dominionism. It is defiance of kingship itself—earthly or divine.
So Johnson’s Smear Makes Sense—Politically
Once you frame protestors as traitors, every countermeasure becomes justifiable. Johnson’s rhetoric sets up a political defense: if they oppose me, they oppose America. If they gather as No Kings, they gather as enemies. If they demand accountability, they demand overthrow.
This framing lets the speaker claim moral high ground while sanitizing authoritarian overreach. He can defund agencies, push Guard deployments, tighten executive control—and say dissenters are enemies of the state. He can argue that defending democracy is too slow; stronger rulership is necessary. That is the exact slide he wants.
It’s not that Johnson fears violence. He fears being held accountable. He fears that meals and houses and passports are not gifts from power—they’re owed to citizens.
The Reality: Protest, Not Prophecy
If Johnson thinks the No Kings crowd is coming for windows… it’s coming for the hypocrisy. If he thinks they carry bombs… they carry banners. If he thinks they worship revolution… they worship the idea that power must answer to people.
They want:
- Reopening government, not delay.
- The return of civil servants, not their purge.
- A republic, not a coronation baked in executive prerogative.
They speak not in prophetic decree but rhetorical demand. They ask: who gets to govern? Who gets to dissent? Are holy claims superior to checks and balances?
If Johnson fears chaos, he created it by calling people traitors before they opened their mouths.
Closing: When the Crown Must Be Refused
Johnson’s decision to label No Kings protestors as treasonous reveals not strength—but panic. He dreads that a movement named after refusing kings might just reclaim democracy from royal narratives. Because when you call dissent “hate America,” you admit your own kingdom is insecure.
No Kings Day is not about hate. It is about love: for the Constitution, for pluralism, for the idea that power is not divine. When that day arrives again, Johnson will speak louder, sound meaner, brand harder—but the crowd will still chant: No thrones. No crowns. No kings. Because democracy must always be claimed, never gifted.