The “No Kings” rally, slated for October 18, 2025, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., has drawn sharp condemnation from House Speaker Mike Johnson, who branded it a “Hate America” gathering orchestrated by radical elements intent on undermining the nation’s foundational principles. Johnson, speaking on Fox News, warned that the event will attract “the antifa crowd, the pro-Hamas crowd, and the Marxists,” all converging for what he described as “an outrageous gathering for outrageous purposes” that must be brought to an end. Organized under the banner of nonviolent action by a coalition of progressive groups—including Indivisible, the American Federation of Teachers, and the American Association of University Professors—the rally aims to protest what participants see as authoritarian overreach by the Trump administration. Yet critics like Johnson argue it’s less about democracy and more about sowing division, especially amid the ongoing government shutdown, which he claims Democrats are prolonging to appease their “rabid base” until after the demonstration.

Beneath the rally’s patriotic rhetoric of “America has no kings,” lies a troubling undercurrent of ideological extremism that echoes the very forces Johnson highlighted. While official partners like Reproductive Freedom for All and Peace Action frame it as a stand against abuses of power, reports and Republican lawmakers point to broader involvement from anti-fascist networks and pro-Palestinian activists, potentially turning the Mall into a flashpoint for unrest. Even figures like Robert De Niro have amplified calls to join, urging mass turnout to “remove the regime,” which only fuels fears of escalation. As federal employees from the American Federation of Government Employees plan to participate in frustration over administration policies, the event risks blending legitimate grievances with the kind of street-level agitation that has historically disrupted public order. Johnson’s plea for an end to such spectacles underscores a broader Republican alarm: in a time of fiscal brinkmanship, these protests prioritize spectacle over solutions.

The irony of the “No Kings” rally cuts deep, as its organizers—rooted in the progressive movements that expanded federal power over the 20th century—now decry the very imperial presidency they helped forge. From the New Deal’s vast administrative state to the surveillance architectures of the post-9/11 era and the nuclear arsenal’s Cold War origins, leftist coalitions and intellectual forebears built the mechanisms of centralized authority that today’s protesters rail against in Trump. Bernie Sanders, defending the rally as a bulwark for “American freedom,” conveniently overlooks how Marxist-inspired policies once championed by his wing of the left entrenched the executive’s unchecked might, complete with an “all-seeing” intelligence apparatus. This self-contradiction isn’t mere hypocrisy; it’s a stark reminder that the rally’s anti-authoritarian facade masks a deeper disdain for the constitutional order it purports to save, all while the nation teeters on shutdown’s edge.