Feet stomping against the pavement, you can hear the aggravation echo in your city; a city that you didn’t expect to see such protests.
Loud signs are presented to the world, or anyone that will listen, painting the streets of your community.
For once, it seems like everyone has come together in support of the same cause.
Even people in predominantly red cities are uniting in the “No Kings” protest.
The “No Kings” protest was on June 14th and took place in cities all around the nation.
Cities such as Scottsdale, Arizona and Chesapeake, Virginia participated in this protest despite their support for the Trump Vance campaign during the recent election.
The reason for this movement was to express their frustration with the administration they once supported; one they supported until it went directly against the statutes of constitutional principles, which diminished “Congress’s power of the purse which brings us closer to an all-powerful imperial presidency, weakening checks and balances that secure Americans’ freedoms,” Dominik Lett and Romina Boccia, writers for CATO Institute said.
Along with his actions in office, Trump’s actions online also speak louder volumes.
Trump wrote on his social platform Truth Social: “‘LONG LIVE THE KING!” supporting his belief to be “The King” in the eyes of his followers.
MoveOn Executive Director Katie Bethell said in The Nations: Views From the “No Kings” Protest article, “Across cities and towns, large and small, rural and suburban, red areas and in blue areas millions of us are peacefully coming together for No Kings to send a clear and unmistakable message.”
Citizens in Chesapeake, VA share the same opinion, and exercised their right to protest.
“I don’t really care what’s Democrat or Republican anymore, we need to get rid of somebody who hates our country,” said Chris Gordon, a veteran citizen of Chesapeake, VA in an interview for Wavy Late News.
Along with Chesapeake, a rural southwestern town in Minnesota lined up outside atop a highway pass way in Glencoe.
“These three Minnesota protests took place in counties that voted overwhelmingly for Trump in 2024. Counterprotesters were present at each rally but did not dampen the spirits of protesters, who took the opposition in stride,” a reporter for MINNPOST, Betsy Froiland said.
In the square of Jackson, Wyoming, over 500 people showed up to protest, which is a lot considering that Wyoming is the second largest red state next to Texas.
With that, this protest was the most populated out of the four other protests held this year pertaining to Trump’s administration.
Reporter for Wyoming Public Radio, Sophia Boyd-Fliegel reported, “Over 500 people had gathered on the square again in Jackson’s largest protest out of four held this year, these protesters were commended for their peacefulness and keeping to the sidewalk; out of traffic.”
We’re 40 weeks and three days into Trump’s administration and protests have already been held in not only blue cities but red cities as well.
What does this say about the administration?
Well, citizens in Scottsdale came together on this day despite their support for the Trump Vance administration, and had things to say about it.
A citizen of Scottsdale said in an interview for Fox10, “Well I’m here for democracy, I’m here for the American way of life. I don’t like kings. That’s why we had a revolution in 1776.”
From red states to blue states, the No Kings protest revealed that when democracy feels threatened, Americans – regardless of party – can still unite under one message: no one is above the constitution.