For weeks, the left-wing media were breathlessly reporting that the crowds for Saturday’s “No Kings” rallies were going to be enormous. It was going to be a sign of American outrage at the “imperialism and cronyism” of the Trump administration. They said people were “outraged” and would show up in huge numbers to support Democrats taking control of the U.S. Congress in the midterm election and to send President Donald Trump a message that the American people want “No Kings.”
Instead, the crowds were “small, but spirited” at rallies held throughout the country. For example, in Springfield, Illinois, “the crowd was smaller than previous events held to protest the Trump administration.” Most of the attendees were far-left socialists with signs protesting President Trump, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, “military supremacy,” or “rampant sexism.”
To get into the spirit of the event, some participants wore costumes, while others “played protest songs.” One attendee, Phil Blazich, led the small crowd in various chants, but he was bitterly disappointed. He said, “There should be a million people right here against Trump right now speaking out… It makes me upset because they should be here; they should care about America.”
Well, Phil, here is a news flash: people didn’t show up because they don’t agree with the socialist agenda. They remember what happened during President Joe Biden’s administration, and they don't want to return to open borders, unconstitutional government mandates, and 9.1 percent inflation, the highest since the economic “malaise” of President Jimmy Carter’s administration.
When President Trump left office in January 2021, inflation was only 1.4 percent. Under Biden’s disastrous leftist policies, cumulative inflation topped 20 percent during his four years. As Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson (LA-4) noted, the high inflation rate drove the Federal Reserve “into the highest interest rates in 23 years.” Accordingly, American “workers lost more than $2,900 in real purchasing power.”
No wonder millions of Americans do not want to attend rallies calling for the return of Democrat Party policies like those that were delivered during the Biden administration. Even the New York Times admitted that “Saturday’s gatherings were more subdued than some past events, and many prominent Democrats skipped them.”
In many of the “red” states, Democrat Party candidates are trying to pretend they are moderates, so they did not want to be affiliated with the far-left base of their party. As a result, Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Democrat Senate nominee James Talarico of Texas did not attend any “No Kings” rallies in their states.
However, neither Ossoff nor Talarico is a moderate politician. There is “not a dime’s worth of difference” between the far-left activists at the “No Kings” rallies and most Democrat Party candidates running in the 2026 midterm election.
In fact, the only real moderate among major Democrat Party officeholders today, Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), is not on the ballot this year.
Another reason Democrat Party candidates stayed away from the rallies is that they knew few people would attend. Rhein Amacher, a conservative commentator, labeled the “No Kings” rally in Portland, Oregon, “an absolute embarrassment.” He posted on social media, “For all the non-stop screeching, manufactured outrage, and media hype, the turnout looked pathetic, and the enthusiasm was practically nonexistent. The anti-Trump resistance is looking more like a retirement parade for a dying political movement.”
Andrew Kolvet, Turning Point USA spokesman, posted that “they emptied out the nursing home” for the “No Kings” rally in Northwest Arkansas. According to Kolvet, the rally featured “the Raging Grannies of Northwest Arkansas. Sun hats. Folding chairs. Song sheets. Little American flags. A walker in the back.”
It was even more bizarre at the “No Kings” rally in Arlington, Virginia. Among the speakers at the sparsely attended event was a drag queen who spoke about “Our America.”
The “No Kings” rallies involve “a network of about 500 organizations.” The sponsors have “an estimated $3 billion in combined annual revenues.” In St. Paul, Minnesota, one of their event coordinators is an organization “funded by billionaire George Soros.”
Speaker Johnson clearly outlined the stakes of the midterm election. He posted, “This is NOT your father’s Democrat Party! The dangerous Marxist left has TAKEN IT OVER to push their anti-American policy agenda. The choice is now clear, and even the mainstream media knows it. Will America remain the…most powerful, most successful, most benevolent nation in (world) history? OR will we SHRED the Constitution and become the Socialist Republic of America, heading down a dark, deadly road to COMMUNISM and RUIN? That is the future the Democrats want.”
The differences between the two parties have never been greater than they are in this midterm election. For the Republicans, President Trump is traveling nationwide to spread his message about his track record, the One Big Beautiful Bill, the tax relief Americans have received, the new investment pouring into the country, and the secure border.
In response, the Democrats are trying to fire up their socialist base with events like the “No Kings” rallies. Saturday’s events marked the fourth “No Kings” rally day since the second Trump administration began in January 2025.
Instead of building momentum and expanding their crowds by attracting independent and moderate voters, Saturday’s events were smaller and drew mainly from the Democrat Party’s far-left core. As a result, only two dozen people showed up at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., and only 200 participated in Baton Rouge at the Louisiana state capitol.
With the funky costumes, crazy chants, and slogans such as “Donkeys against Tyranny,” the “No Kings” rallies were more of a freak show than a serious movement to propel Democrats to victory on November 3rd.
This should put Republicans in a better mood about their midterm election chances. It shows that a “Blue Tsunami” or “Blue Wave” won't happen, and Republicans have a fighting chance to defy the oddsmakers, the media, and the pollsters and deliver a much better-than-expected result in this crucial 2026 midterm election.
Jeff Crouere is a native New Orleanian and his award-winning program, “Ringside Politics,” airs Saturdays from 1-2 PM CT nationally on Real America's Voice TV Network & AmericasVoice.News and weekdays from 7-9 AM & 6-7 PM CT on WGSO 990-AM & Wgso.com. He is the President and General Manager of WGSO Radio, a political columnist, the author of America's Last Chance, and provides regular commentaries on the Jeff Crouere YouTube channel and at Crouere.net. For more information, email him at jcrouere@gmail.com.