Somewhere between 5 million and 8 million people took to the streets Saturday for a delightful day of peaceful and joyful protests, clever signs, funny costumes, and impressive solidarity for the nation’s second No Kings Day.
It was a stunning affirmation of political protest.
Or, as Republican leaders described it, a “hate America” gathering of “unhinged” Democrats, “Hamas terrorists, illegal aliens and violent criminals.” Those descriptions came from the speaker of the U.S House, the secretary of the treasury, and the White House press secretary.
To the possible dismay of such Republicans, the gathering featured grandmothers, middle-aged homeowners, and still-hopeful young people. And lots of white people. Imagine that.
There were virtually no negative incidents among the millions of people and thousands of gatherings except for one overzealous demonstrator who posted a tasteless AI-generated video of someone dropping shit from an airplane onto the No Kings crowds.
Whoops. I got bad information on that one. It wasn’t a puerile protestor who did that. It was the puerile president of the United States. Really. Such a class act.
Trump, of course, tried to dismiss the giant coast-to-coast rallies. That’s his style. Just say things didn’t happen, or that they are not important, or that they are overrated which is what he has said about the Broadway musical Hamilton, multiple Oscar-winner movie star Meryl Streep, and democracy.
His lapdogs take note. They show their fealty by trying to one-up each other by showing who can best lick his boots. It’s a tough job. There is a lot of competition.
The antics of the Hegseths, Patels, Bondis, and Noems would be laughable if they weren’t so simultaneously dangerous and inept. (Which one didn’t know what “habeas corpus” means? Which one unwittingly opened a discussion of attack plans to a reporter?) As such, they blatantly turn the constitution on its head, wage war on Venezuelan fishing boats and American cities, openly seek retribution on political opponents, and zealously encourage their followers to treat Democrats (or independents, or moderate Republicans) as enemies of the state.
Morally, there was a time when Republican leaders at least tried to disguise their racism, misogyny, and white supremacism. Those days are long gone.
Witness the reaction when Politico revealed a long chain of vile texts from young Republicans that ranged from pro-Hitler comments, to racist tropes, to antisemitism snark, to rape glorification.
Kids do stupid things, said a sympathetic J.D. Vance. Boys will be boys.
Except these weren’t kids. Theses were members of Young Republicans from across the nation, ages 18 to 40. One has been chief of staff for a New York state assemblyman for five years. One is the communications director for the attorney general in Kansas. Another was an elected state legislator. The multitude of messages from many in the group were more than disturbing. From the Politico story:
They referred to Black people as monkeys and ‘the watermelon people’ and mused about putting their political opponents in gas chambers. They talked about raping their enemies and driving them to suicide and lauded Republicans who they believed support slavery.
And, don’t forget, “I love Hitler.”
Just what young people does Vance hang around with? Then again, Vance once wondered if Trump were “America’s Hitler.” Perhaps he intended that as a compliment.
Vance and the rest of Team Trump show you what today’s Republican Party is all about. The Young Republican texts show you what tomorrow’s Republicans look like.
All in all, it’s some serious shit.
