This No Kings was bigger, but so was the pushback.
The day after this last No Kings, we posted a 24-second REEL from the front of the march. It was a great scene, with the massive crowd on the Parkway striding towards our camera, with Billy Penn in the background looking down from City Hall.
We kept the caption light and generous:
No Kings Philly (3-28-26): banners, flags, veterans, a juggler… an inflatable lobster… Big thanks to the city for a joyful show of Brotherly Love and solidarity. No Kings since 1776! ❤️🤍💙
Yay, democracy! Simple as that. Doesn’t have to be political, to appreciate fellow Americans exercising their rights. You’d think. But you’d be wrong.
As the views racked up, so did the hostility. The comments came in fast, then faster, with the same familiar mix of mockery, contempt, and denial:
If you smell icy hot and adult diapers, turn around! You’re getting too close to a No Kings protest.
This is what mental illness looks like.
Morons on parade!
Goofy leftist white people, not moderate voters. Here’s how you lost every swing state. And you’ll be doing the same pointless displays after 2028.
You stupid motherfu¢¢rs!
Trump is still King. Looks like you wasted all that whining for nothing!
Not to mention the offensive memes. The week after No Kings was a blur of Meta notifications from users who were clearly freaked out. What’s going on?
This didn’t happen when we posted a REEL from the first No Kings protest in June 2025. That clip was even longer but it only got one comment: “Fantastic!” Something has definitely changed, for such an innocent social media post to come in so hot. It’s almost as if our tolerance for public expression has gotten narrower, and nastier.
Guys, we don’t have to do this! No Kings is not a leftist threat. It’s a broad, loose coalition of liberals, moderates, former Republicans and Trump supporters. Hippies, veterans, libertarians. Teens who can’t vote in patriotic t-shirts; dogs wearing signs they can’t read. Random people with no signs or flags, possibly swept up in the flow.
That’s one of the most exciting things about No Kings, the remarkable variety of views expressed in countless ways. The point of Free Speech is to criticize our government, there’s nothing more American than that. No one’s dissent is a personal attack on other voters.
Depth Perception
Nor is it all for show. But when people can’t be bullied into silence, they’re dismissed with the same old brush-off: protesting is performative, and therefore useless. Ha. That’s pretty rich coming from an administration that released the RFK, Jr/Kid Rock workout video.
And so what if it’s performative? Public life is full of performance. Politics, especially, has always been. And now the eye-popping turnout for No Kings this March makes our opposition hard to ignore. It was the largest single-day protest in US history.
The crowds weren’t just big, they were markedly younger. Among the estimated 8 million people who turned out, a striking number were under 25 this time. And many of them were in small towns and rural areas that usually go red.
Seems Americans are losing faith in MAGA, even as more of them get involved in politics, maybe for the first time. Fractures within the GOP, too, are also growing, while the number of Democratic-leaning Independents surges. As this era appears to be ending, we need to be ready for what comes next.
Because we’ll have some building to do. A lot of what Trump damaged can be brought back, but not all of it. That America is gone. Now we need to look at each other and consider what kind of country we want to live in. Despite this administration’s full-throated overreach, it’s still our country. No Kings asserts this claim in thousands of events across the nation and even the world.
Can you feel it? Marching empowers us with hope, courage, and solidarity. It strengthens our resolve to do more. By coming out together, we show our hesitant neighbors that it’s safe to push back. That they are not alone. And there’s no purity test to belong.
Face Value
Our vast numbers and diversity send a strong message to the people in power, and also to the people who want to be in power.
With the midterms coming up in November, the stakes are enormously high. If the candidates seeking to represent us want our support, they need to back the things that we care about. But rather than win us over, MAGA has attacked voting rights and access.
The SAVE Act is only part of the problem. Elections are run at the state level, which leaves a lot of room for partisan meddling. Citizens are needed now to push back against local efforts to limit polling places, restrict mail-in ballots, or chip away at voting access in other ways.
Feeling Civic?
Connect with the groups already doing this work, and find out what they need.
Better yet, tell them what you can offer, whether that’s money, door-knocking, rides, or help with social media. If one group or task isn’t the right fit, try another. You’ll soon see where you belong.
Mobilize — A good first stop if you want to see what’s happening nearby. Mobilize pulls together events, trainings, volunteer shifts, canvasses, petitions, and voter outreach opportunities in and around Philadelphia. mobilize.us
Indivisible Philadelphia — A local grassroots group focused on getting Philadelphians informed, organized, and involved. Their work includes events, postcarding, canvassing, and other concrete ways to take action. indivisiblephiladelphia.com
Protect Our Vote Philly — A Philadelphia-based, nonpartisan watchdog coalition focused on fair, accessible, secure, and transparent local elections. A strong fit for anyone especially interested in how voting works here at home. facebook.com/POVPhilly
Common Cause Pennsylvania: Election Protection — For readers who want to help protect voting rights directly, Common Cause Pennsylvania helps mobilize volunteers to make sure voters can cast ballots without confusion, obstruction, or intimidation. commoncause.org/pennsylvania/work/election-protection
ACLU of Pennsylvania — Interested in voting rights and election protection more broadly? Explore this iconic org’s many volunteer opportunities tied to nonpartisan democracy work. aclupa.org/lpvvolunteering
Committee of Seventy — A longtime Philadelphia civic organization focused on better government, voter education, ethics, and election engagement in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania. seventy.org
March on Harrisburg — A Pennsylvania democracy-reform group focused on reducing the influence of big money in politics and building a government that works for the public rather than wealthy donors. mohpa.org
✊ Keep protesting! The Philadelphia area is a vibrant hub for activism, this summer’s calendar is full of opportunities to stay engaged.
What do you think? Click the links for more info, and please leave your questions and comments below.
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