It’s always dangerous to accept “participation” statistics about public events, so I’ll take equal grains of salt with the White House’s estimate of 250,000 attendees at Donald Trump’s June 14 birthday parade in Washington, DC, and the American Civil Liberties Union’s estimate of more than five million participants in more than 2,100 “No Kings” rallies around the US on the same day.

I attended the “No Kings” event in Gainesville, Florida, with a friend. Media estimates for participants in that rally range from 1,500 to 3,000. My impression is that real attendance came closer to, and probably exceeded, the higher figure.

I didn’t go to the rally with any particular issue on my mind. I didn’t make a sign to wave, or take advantage of any of the offerings of signs hitting on various subjects.

While it’s fair to say that I’m “anti-Trump” both in general and on any number of specifics, my goal (and, I think, my friend’s) wasn’t so much to express that sentiment as to “take the temperature.” What issues would enjoy the loudest support/opposition? Would MAGA counter-protesters show up? Would the protesters, the counter-protesters, or the police engage in violence?

Thankfully, I saw no violence. I saw no counter-protesters. Oddly, at a gathering of thousands with tense political implications, I saw not a single uniformed police officer. I’m not saying they weren’t there. But I walked around quite a bit and IF they were there they weren’t prominent.

The simplest “temperature” measure, of course, was opposition to the presidency of Donald Trump.  Nobody (or at least nobody I encountered) seemed to disagree with that.

Why? Well, that’s where the crowd got all over the place.

I saw signs opposing US support for Israel’s war in Gaza (but, oddly, no signs referencing Iran or the Russia-Ukraine war);  signs opposing cuts to federal funding of everything from Medicaid to university research; signs opposing Elon Musk; signs supporting LGBTQ people and causes; signs opposing Trump’s war on immigrants; signs supporting free speech, civil liberties, and due process; and just general anti-Trump signage.

The initial talk by the main “organizer” stressed that the 50501 movement (which “coordinated” the “No Kings” events) is “decentralized” and “non-partisan.” Perhaps the former, but far from the latter. Various Democratic Party organizations, and “progressive” organizations at least nominally affiliated with the party, ran booths. Groups of people wearing similar t-shirts suggested those organizations had specifically turned out their members for the event.

Let me be blunt: Whether the organizers intended it or not, the nationwide simultaneous rallies became, in effect, the Democratic Party’s first major campaign event for the 2026 midterms and 2028 presidential election. Those of who oppose Trump but aren’t Democrats came along for the ride. Our support was co-opted whether we liked it or not.

So: I had fun, but found the pervasive “no REPUBLICAN kings” vibe disappointingly narrow.

Until we reject the whole idea of letting ourselves be ruled by politicians, the senile party hacks who lord it over us are “kings” whether we call them that or not.

Thomas L. Knapp (X: @thomaslknapp | Bluesky: @knappster.bsky.social | Mastodon: @knappster) is director and senior news analyst at the William Lloyd Garrison Center for Libertarian Advocacy Journalism (thegarrisoncenter.org). He lives and works in north central Florida.

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