By the time you read this another round of “No Kings” protests will have taken place across Colorado and the country. Participants will feel empowered from standing shoulder to shoulder in solidarity chanting slogans and waving signs their voices of dissent heard loud and clear coast to coast.
But now that the signs are propped against the garage wall and social media feeds feature more dog videos and advertisements than protest pics, it’s worth asking: what did the “No Kings” protest accomplish? Was the message heard by anyone other than those making it? Did it change a single mind?
Probably not. The fact that I had to look up what organizers meant by “No Kings” is one indication. With the dozens of well-funded left-leaning organizations listed as partners on the website, surely one of them could have the lent the effort a descent comms guy. For all its catchy repetition, the website’s declaration “No Thrones. No Crowns. No Kings” makes no sense. These don’t exist even in Trump’s garishly gilded Oval Office. The “about” page, which goes on about tyranny, dictatorship, and coronation, is no less illuminating. What country are we talking about?
This is the kind of overwrought language that even sympathetic readers like me find laughable. And I am sympathetic. President Trump is mendacious, vengeful, and unscrupulous. He continuously violates constitutional boundaries by violating due process and usurping the legislature’s prerogatives. He elevates unqualified sycophants to head agencies, alienates foreign allies, and uses government power to punish opponents. Also, his tariffs are driving up prices. But he isn’t the first to abuse power in these ways (though he may be the most brazen) and the courts are restraining his worst excesses. The republic remains strong.
Trump is no king, much less a dictator or a tyrant. Words like these should be reserved for men like Russia’s Putin and Venezuela’s Maduro if they are to mean anything. Trump critics have to find better ways to communicate our concerns. Fear-mongering, which comes off equal parts paranoid and patronizing, is the surest way to make people stop listening.
In the past, I’ve found that the best way to be heard is to first listen. I’ve asked thoughtful, Trump supporting friends why they like the president. They told me that they support his policies to secure the border, increase energy production, tackle government waste, protect women’s sports, uphold religious liberty, and increase school choice. One friend said, although she doesn’t always like what Trump says, she appreciates that he says what he thinks instead of mincing words. Another said she likes his efforts to ease regulatory burdens and his work ending the Hamas-Israel conflict.
The last point is something everyone, right or left, can agree is an unqualified good. War is tragic. The ceasefire and return of the hostages is a foreign policy triumph that could be a first step toward lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians. By acknowledging Trump’s positive role, Trump critics can create common ground for dialogue with Trump supporters. We can earn the right to have our concerns heard.
Alas, “Trump deserves praise for facilitating peace in Israel and Palestine but we have grave concerns about several of his domestic policies” doesn’t fit well on a protest sign, but it’s more likely to be heard by Trump supporters. Conversing with the unconverted is much harder than preaching to the choir.
Krista Kafer is a Sunday Denver Post columnist.
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