GOP: ‘No Kings’ Protests Will Only Prolong Shutdown As Dems Start To Feel Heat

Republican leaders are pointing to Saturday’s wave of “No Kings” protests as the latest example of the radical left’s stranglehold on the Democratic Party — and a key reason the government remains shut down.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said Democrats have refused to negotiate a funding deal because they’re too busy pandering to their activist base and staging political theater ahead of the nationwide demonstrations.

“For many of our Democrat colleagues, tomorrow is about creating, really, a spectacle,” Johnson said at a Friday press conference. “That’s what they’ve been doing here every day of the shutdown, with their little TikTok videos and their publicity stunts, and they’re going to do it in a much larger venue tomorrow.”

He continued,

“As the shutdown drags on, it’s becoming increasingly clear that this spectacle is the reason the Democrats have refused to reopen the government.”

According to Johnson, “No Kings” organizers have distributed talking points celebrating the shutdown and urging Democrats to “stand strong” against President Donald J. Trump’s efforts to rein in runaway spending.

“They’re urging this on. They love this,” he said.

Democrats Double Down as Public Turns Against Them

Recent polling shows that Democrats are beginning to shoulder more of the blame for the ongoing shutdown, as Americans grow weary of partisan brinkmanship and economic uncertainty.

But rather than compromise, the “No Kings” coalition mocked Johnson’s criticism, responding with what they called “a few moments of laughter.”

In a statement to The Washington Times, the group said:

“Speaker Johnson is running out of excuses for keeping the government shut down. Instead of reopening the government, preserving affordable health care, or lowering costs for working families, he’s attacking millions of Americans who are peacefully coming together to say that America belongs to its people, not to kings.”

Radical Activists Attack President Trump

Organizers have framed Saturday’s demonstrations as a “peaceful national day of action” against what they describe as “the increasing authoritarian excesses and corruption of the Trump administration.”

Their statement accused the administration of “targeting immigrant families,” “rigging maps to silence voters,” and “handing out massive giveaways to billionaire allies.”

Critics were quick to point out the irony: if President Trump were truly a “king,” as the protesters claim, he would hardly tolerate mass demonstrations calling for his removal. In fact, nearly every major executive action taken during Trump’s second term has faced judicial review — a hallmark of constitutional governance, not dictatorship.

“A Hate America Rally”

Republicans are calling Saturday’s events what they believe they really are — a “hate America rally.”

“If you think about what’s going to happen here tomorrow, you’re going to bring together the Marxists, the socialists, the antifa advocates, the anarchists, and the pro-Hamas wing of the far left Democrat party,” Johnson said. “That is the modern Democratic Party.”

He added that these activists “hate” the core principles that define the Republican Party and the nation itself:

“Individual freedom, limited government, the rule of law, peace through strength, fiscal responsibility, free markets, human dignity — the things that made us the greatest nation in the history of the world.”

Johnson said many on the far left are so blinded by hatred for President Donald Trump that they cannot even celebrate America’s progress or the renewed prosperity under his leadership.

Finally, the Speaker accused Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) of blocking a clean funding bill in order to appease the left-wing mobs.

“Schumer would rather keep the government closed than disappoint the radicals who run his party,” Johnson said.