The madcap red cap maggots think Trump’s policies are to DEI for on the back of Trump advocating for no queens (and hating Queens along with the rest of New York). Meanwhile America is shouting back, “No Kings”. Republicans answer that the No Kings movement consists of people who hate America and are actually members of that most dangerous of all terrorist organisations – Antifa.
For people who don’t follow US politics, antifa merely means anti-fascist to describe people who reject fascism – an honourable standard to uphold. It is not an organization in any shape or form, but is used as a slur much like branding a person a communist during the McCarthy era. Why it is so gleefully used by Republicans against people who refuse to go along with their diktats is that, I believe, it conjures up the word Intifada in people’s minds. This resonates with MAGA because Intifada is an Arabic word for a rebellion or uprising and was specifically used to describe Palestinian resistance to Israel in the First Intifada (1987–1993) and the Second Intifada (2000–2005).
The rash of popular ‘No Kings’ protests against the indiscriminate use of presumptive Presidential executive orders, that have little or no legal basis, harkens back 250 years to the American war of Independence against a distant monarchy that existed in a gilded bubble. (Alright, Britain was a sort of democracy but there was no universal franchise and the King held enormous sway.) Trump’s unique approach to the Presidency along with a compliant Supreme court threatens to hollow out all the underpinnings of America’s democracy and turn it into a horrible tribute show for the Orange Jesus.
Contrary to Trump’s vain boasts which, as usual, are light on facts, he is proving to be an unpopular President. He and all his toadies and the ‘Voice of America’, Fox News, repeatedly state that his resounding victory gave him a mandate. Really? A mandate to do what – to upend the whole well balanced American democracy with a machine gun blast of vile executive orders like a demented rapper high on his tanning spray?
It is true that the Republicans also won both houses and control the Supreme court 6 – 3, but let’s look at his personal mandate. Yes, he did beat Harris by 2.28m votes but this was after she replaced the doddery Biden on the slate with only 107 days to go. It should be noted that he did not actually receive more than 50% of all the votes cast. Also, “Slo Joe, I call him Slo Joe, you know” had actually beaten Trump by 7m votes previously. So much for his popularity.
As the 47th President, he is the most unpopular President ever at this stage of his incumbency with a 37% approval rating. To achieve this high honour, he had to beat that other most unpoular President, Donald J Trump Jr, in his previous incarnation as the 45th President which he has done handsomely.
Back to the No Kings rallies. While the tacky King Midas with his golden décor touch skulked and sulked in his personal shrine at Mar-a-Lago complete with fake Times magazine covers about himself, 7 million Americans turned out in all 50 states in 2700 protests to express their displeasure. With crowds seething with cartoon figures, narco blow up frog costumes, out of control horny unicorns, protesting grannies and sarcastic posters, not one shot was fired, no tear gas or smoke had to be deployed and everyone was happy without having to get high first. It was remarkably unifying.
As the US motto fittingly states, “E pluribus unum” (out of many, one).