Millions of protestors outraged at President Donald Trump’s — well, at his existence apparently, despite assassins’ best efforts — crowded blue cities nationwide on Saturday, while events outside of liberal enclaves were more lightly attended, mostly by aging Boomers trying to tap into that faded Woodstock vibe. The “No Kings” theme of these well-funded, Astroturfed events attempted to push the narrative that Trump is acting like a dictator.
That’s a hard sell, given that Trump has been kneecapped by one judicial ruling after another, which he has scrupulously respected, and duly appealed. Indeed, no president has wielded less power since Richard Nixon was hobbled by Watergate and a hostile Congress. It’s hard to govern when half your bureaucracy, the entire media, and large parts of the federal courts are determined to nullify your constitutional authority.
Nobody flooded the streets when Barack Obama killed an American citizen by drone strike, because of alleged terrorist ties. No one called it “authoritarian” when the Former Joe Biden’s autopen freed hundreds of criminals, including child porn collectors and Chinese spies. But when President Trump tries to do the federal government’s job of removing illegal aliens, state governors turn Confederate and treat ICE facilities like Fort Sumter.
And these protests were meant to suggest a groundswell of support for such lawlessness. Will they succeed? It doesn’t seem likely. For one thing, the Democrats can’t control themselves or rein in their wildest elements. Gateway Pundit reports:
A disturbing video from a recent “No Kings” protest has sparked outrage after a liberal protester was filmed mocking the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
The clip, which quickly spread across social media, shows the woman laughing and making crude remarks about Kirk being shot in the neck, turning a national tragedy into a punchline.
The woman was identified by the individual who first posted the footage as Lucy Martinez, who he claimed is employed as a teacher in a Chicago public school.
Meet Lucy Martinez — an elementary school teacher from Chicago who thought it was funny to mock Charlie Kirk’s death.
This woman teaches children.
Lucy is now the perfect face of the “No Kings” movement — a movement that preaches “love” but celebrates death.
Evil always… pic.twitter.com/5TTu5TpfYw
— Ryan Fournier (@RyanAFournier) October 19, 2025
Another protestor, according to the same news source, called for President Trump’s death:
Connecticut State Senator Saud Anwar (D), a practicing physician and immigrant from Pakistan, is facing backlash after being photographed at the radical “No Kings” protest holding a sign that read: “Let cholesterol do its job.”
The message, widely interpreted as a wish for President Trump to suffer or even die from health issues, has drawn outrage across Connecticut and beyond.
Beyond hatred for Trump, these rallies demanded the same laundry list of far-left, un-American policies and laws, as Lifezette noted:
Nationwide demonstrations branded as the “No Kings” protests are set to take place across the United States on Saturday, featuring chants and slogans that call for abolishing private schools, guaranteeing universal housing, and advancing other left-wing policy goals….
Organizers of the protests have circulated a “Songs and Chants” sheet online, outlining the themes and messages that participants are expected to chant during marches in cities including Washington, D.C., New York City, and Portland.
The chants emphasize opposition to private education, property ownership, and capitalist structures, framing the demonstrations as a demand for “economic justice.”
Trump Dumps on “No Kings” Fiesta
President Trump took a … distinctive approach in his response to these protests, infuriating critics and sending some Establishment GOP types to their mauve fainting couches. He posted an AI video he’d found to social media. You have to see it to quite believe it:
#Trump did not create this AI video, but he shared it on Truth Social late Saturday night after #NoKings ended. It shows him dumping poo from a plane onto protesters. pic.twitter.com/SdfHZ7TFV3
— Modern Scot (@Modern_Scot) October 19, 2025
Now, of course the buttoned up members of our political class complained that such a post was “un-presidential.” Well, maybe. But I’d argue that it’s effective, and for a very sobering reason.
When You’re Dealing with Sheep, Act Like a Herding Dog
The Left has ceased to engage in the battle of ideas. Conservatives who try to refute leftist arguments are largely wasting their time. Having gained monopoly power in most of our institutions (including the Deep State), the Left attracts and holds its supporters by tapping into the “herd” instinct, the lamentable but all too human instinct to want to side with the winners — and shuffle into line behind whoever’s prestigious and powerful.
Republicans, as fallen as Democrats, show the same response: Back in 2016, Trump’s most effective rhetoric against rivals such as Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio centered on diminishing their stature (“Low energy Jeb,” “Little Marco”) rather than quibbling with their policies.
Open borders leftists are a far less rationally persuadable audience than GOP primary voters. Seriously, when was the last time you heard a principled argument for Leftist policies such as grooming kids with transgender propaganda or letting illegal aliens vote? Instead the Left wields social stigma, threats of “cancellation,” and finally physical violence. They couldn’t argue with Charlie Kirk, so when one of their own murdered him, many Leftists celebrated.
Would you really be stewarding your time wisely, for instance, if you tried to argue from Constitutional principles with this Democrat donor, who hurled racist abuse at black Republican Virginia governor candidate Winsome Sears, a legal immigrant from Jamaica:
White, racist, liberal Democrat at the @JMUFootball game appears to shout at @WinsomeSears:
“Go back to Haiti!” (Sears was born in Jamaica)
“Traitor!” pic.twitter.com/RRTjPd4MD1
— NOVA Campaigns (@NoVA_Campaigns) October 19, 2025
Or how about this guy?
Leftist protester in Chicago calls to shoot and “wipe out” ICE agents @FBI pic.twitter.com/DHMj6i3SGS
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) October 19, 2025
What such people deserve isn’t earnest arguments but open contempt. They must be mocked, “triggered,” and exposed as powerless. That will dispirit the large majority of low-information joiners who swell their ranks, and cripple the Left’s momentum. Trump knows he’s dealing with sheep, so he’s nipping at their heels like a talented Australian Shepherd. We should be thankful he has the right instincts.
Left-Wing Films Fail, Including Antifa Recruitment Movie
Last week, survivor of Chinese Communist Party persecution Chenyuan Snider exposed the new, star-studded Paul Thomas Anderson movie, One Battle After Another, as Marxist propaganda promoting political violence. It’s good to hear that this movie is sputtering at the box office. Outkick reports that the Antifa fan fiction flick will burn a huge pile of studio money:
“One Battle After Another” has all the elements that should make for a Hollywood blockbuster. It has a big name director, Paul Thomas Anderson, who directed “There Will Be Blood.” It has an A-list star with Leonardo DiCaprio. There’s a solid supporting cast of actors, including Benecio del Toro and Sean Penn. It has the backing of one of the largest studios in the business, Warner Bros. Pictures. There was a gigantic marketing campaign to support it.
It’s also on track to lose at least $100 million.
The film is quite obviously themed towards left-wing ideology, as it focuses on a far-left militant group called the “French 75.” One of the main plot lines involves breaking immigrants out of a detention center. It’s antagonistic towards law enforcement, banks, includes attacks on politicians. And while DiCaprio has said in interviews that it’s meant as “satire” about “both ends,” that’s clearly not entirely accurate.
“I think it’s probably because it’s a complex thing to articulate, but at the heart of it, I think the movie’s a lot to do with humanity. It’s a lot to do with polarization in the world that we live in, extremism on both ends,” he said, per Reuters.
But author and screenwriter Bret Easton Ellis pointed out that it’s receiving praise from critics and certain viewers because of its politics.
“It’s kind of shocking to see these kind of accolades for — I’m sorry, it’s not a very good movie — because of its political ideology, and it’s so obvious that’s what they’re responding to,” he said on his podcast.
“Why it’s considered a masterpiece, the greatest film of the decade, the greatest film ever made [is] because it really aligns with this kind of leftist sensibility.”
Meanwhile, Left-leaning Hollywood as a whole continues to suffer, according to Zero Hedge:
Film and TV production in the Los Angeles area has hit an all-time low, sinking to levels worse than the SAG union strike of 2023. The city has introduces new tax incentives to generate enthusiasm but many in Tinseltown are questioning if the industry will ever recover.
FilmLA, the city and county’s film permitting office, said Tuesday that on-location production in the greater Los Angeles area declined 13.2% from July through September 2025 compared to the same period last year. Once again, this continues a multi-year trend in declining local production….
Profits never recovered after the pandemic shutdowns and this has been used for years by the progressive media as the excuse for Hollywood’s failures. However, by 2023 US markets were wide open along with most foreign markets and the covid scapegoat no longer exists. Adjusted for inflation, theatrical numbers were already in decline after 2015.
Along The Stream
Later this morning, listen to Ayaan Hirsi Ali, as she tells Eric Metaxas why Christian morals appeal to non-Western non-believers. Will we see a wave of conversions?
Don’t miss James Robison’s thoughtful reflection on what freedom really does — and doesn’t — mean.
John Zmirak is a senior editor at The Stream and author or coauthor of 14 books, including The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration and The Politically Incorrect Guide to Catholicism. His newest book is No Second Amendment, No First.
