Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, intended to hit President Donald Trump amid nationwide “no kings” protests, but instead Republicans argued her comment admits the flimsy case being made.
“Donald Trump is not, never will be, and has never been a king. #NoKings,” Hirono’s Saturday morning X post read as left-wing protesters marched in various anti-Trump demonstrations.
The remarks landed with rare agreement from figures on the right, though.
“So you agree – you think your ‘no kings’ rallies are stupid…,” replied Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, who once backed Trump’s 2024 Republican primary opposition from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
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“Roger that!” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, wrote on X.
Social media reacted in wild agreement even from the right, with some noting that the 2024 November election was a “no kings” protest and some referencing Independence Day as America’s true “no kings” protest.
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One post even noted the irony of “no kings” protests in London, where the United Kingdom actually has a king.
More than 3,200 events had been planned in all 50 states, after the two previous nationwide events attracted millions of participants.
Large rallies took place in New York, Dallas, Philadelphia and Washington, but two-thirds of “no kings” events were happening outside major cities, a nearly 40% jump for smaller communities from the movement’s first mobilization last June, organizers said.
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Video and photos shared on social media showed protesters marching for “no kings,” while waving red flags associated with communist dictatorships.
“These Hate America Rallies are where the far-left’s most violent, deranged fantasies get a microphone and House Democrats get their marching orders,” National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Mike Marinella wrote in a statement Saturday.
“Voters will punish Democrats for gleefully standing shouder-to-shoulder with radicals who call for assassinations and violence.”
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Trump has long rebuked the “no kings” protest mantra.
“I’m not a king — I work my a– off to make America great,” Trump said during last October’s congressional recess protests. “That’s the difference.”
Trump rebuked the protests as “small, crazy, and totally out of touch with real Americans.”
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Hirono was not the only Democratic figure targeted for social media trolling Saturday. The RNC Research X account shared video of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., getting emotional during a “no kings” rally speech, rebuking America as no beacon of hope but “authoritarianism.”
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Omar and Minnesota’s Democratic Gov. Tim Walz have been under fire for allegations of fraud among the Somali community in their state, and Vice President JD Vance last week alleged to have evidence that Omar violated immigration law.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, replied to a Fox News investigation that revealed “no kings” protests were backed by a network of 500 organizations, finding many tied to socialist and communist groups.
“Lefty billionaires & communists,” Cruz wrote. “There’s a shock….”
The first “no kings” event, on Trump’s birthday, June 14, last year, drew an estimated 4 million to 6 million people across roughly 2,100 sites nationwide. The second mobilization in October involved an estimated 7 million participants in more than 2,700 cities, according to a crowdsourcing analysis published by prominent data journalist G. Elliott Morris.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.