Republicans mostly silent as millions of Americans protest Trump on No Kings day
www.theguardian.com
... Republican voices were mostly silent as No Kings rallies and marches against Trump administration policies unfurled on Saturday, many in the spirit of a street party that countered the "hate America" depiction advanced by senior members of the party.
Instead of provocation, there were marching bands, huge banners with "we the people" references to the US constitution, and protesters wearing inflatable costumes, particularly frogs, which have emerged as a sign of resistance.
It was the third mass mobilization since Trump's return to the White House and came against the backdrop of a government shutdown that not only has closed federal programs and services but is testing the core balance of power, as an aggressive executive confronts Congress and the courts in ways that protest organizers warn are a slide toward authoritarianism.
In comments Friday, Donald Trump opposed the protest organizers' characterization of him as a would-be monarch.
"They say they're referring to me as a king. I'm not a king," Trump said in a Fox News interview.
Later Friday, a Trump campaign social media account mocked the protests by posting a computer-generated video of the president clothed like a monarch, wearing a crown and waving from a balcony.
At a White House event on Wednesday, Trump tried to downplay the No Kings events. "I hear very few people [are] going to be there, by the way, but they have their day coming up and they want to have their day in the sun," he said. Trump is spending the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.
In a counter-programming move, JD Vance and defense secretary Pete Hegseth were attending a live-fire amphibious capabilities demonstration at Camp Pendleton in California to commemorate the US Marine Corps' 250th birthday.
However, a plan to fire live artillery shells over a nearby highway drew objections from governor Gavin Newsom, who said it forced the California highway patrol to close a portion of a major interstate through southern California for safety reasons.
"The President is putting his ego over responsibility with this disregard for public safety," the Democratic governor said in a statement. "Firing live rounds over a busy highway isn't just wrong -- it's dangerous." ...
