On October 18, 2025, cheers and shouts echoed across the United States as a collective movement ensued among Americans nationwide. The news of more than 2,700 planned protests made headlines, all brandishing the same unifying slogan: “No Kings.”
To criticize the Trump Administration for its already controversial policies in just less than a quarter of President Trump’s current term, millions of demonstrators in all 50 states gathered together, filled with the spirit of agency and solidarity. Their voices underscored the power of the people within democracy, as well as the hope we have for unity amidst severe polarization throughout the country.
But post-No Kings Day — after the music has stopped and the cheers have died down — the question that we must all consider is whether those voices were heard. Was there some big change in the Trump Administration’s policies? Is President Trump reconsidering his plans for this nation?
The honest answer is no. In the foreseeable future, this country will probably be heading in the same direction it has been going for the past 11 months. The totalitarian mindset President Trump perpetuates through his actions is unlikely to change without something deeper than what opponents have countered with thus far.
And no, I’m not saying that protesting is ineffective. Time and time again, this country has seen how people can challenge the status quo and solve the problems in society that would otherwise be ignored. But just like its people, the United States is ever-changing. It is a product of what its members put into it. We the people are drivers of that change.
The modern era of protest culture must change, too.
The Successes of the No Kings Day Protests
It cannot be denied that the No Kings Day Protests had plenty of successes that Americans should be proud of accomplishing.
For one thing, this collective event drew almost 7 million people rallying together. This is 2 million more protesters than the first No Kings Day on June 14, which occurred under the same slogan and the same goal of protesting against the Trump Administration. There was also an increase in protests sites across the U.S., from roughly 2,100 sites in June to more than 2,700 sites in October. The growth that we’ve seen between these two protests goes to show just how necessary change has become as more people have begun to advocate for it.
Furthermore, the general energy of the movement promoted peace despite the anger that all demonstrators certainly shared. Throughout the U.S., people gathered with humanity and hope, sporting fun costumes and friendly faces. The goal of this peaceful display was a form of protest in itself. It served to counter the idea that the Trump Administration has been trying to develop about its political opposition being composed of violent, unruly people. In establishing peace and friendliness, these people dismantled the negative labels assigned to them.
Lastly, the solidarity No Kings Day created went beyond just the U.S. Outside U.S. embassies, consulates, and town squares, a number of demonstrations arose in other countries throughout the world, including France, Germany, Britain, Spain, and Mexico. The same message rang throughout these places, with signs similarly denouncing the Trump Administration and arguing for “no tyrants” in the U.S. This level of solidarity is inherently crucial to the understanding that something is wrong and must be fixed. If other places aside from the U.S. can also see the danger of the Trump Administration, what was once a call to action is now a demand for change.
The Failures of the No Kings Day Protests
Even with the successes of the No Kings Day protests, there’s still some obvious work to be done.
The Trump Administration has still been stubborn, despite how large-scale No Kings Day had become. Republicans in Congress labeled protestors as “anti-American,” Trump posted AI-generated videos on Truth Social criticizing and mocking them, and Republicans have tried to minimize the impact of this event.
The No Kings Day protests didn’t do too much to change the attitude of the Trump Administration for a number of reasons.
First of all, there was no clear outcome that protestors wanted to establish post-No Kings Day. There was nothing for the Administration to particularly follow in order to take steps toward change. Sure, everyone was united under the “No Kings” slogan, but the protests lacked initiative that underscored what they wanted to see happen in the short and long term. There was no one clear motive for the protest. Though this diversity in objective was not necessarily a bad thing, a lack of focus on certain issues in order to make room for others watered down all their grievances as a whole.
Second, protesters are currently lacking a central leader to guide them in their efforts. While there were many leaders in the U.S. who had taken up the cause to bring people together on No Kings Day, what they really needed was someone at the forefront of all the action — a person who represented their voices and actively worked to get their message heard on the political stage. When we think of historically successful protests, there is always someone who took charge and brought a coordinated narrative for politicians and activists to follow. From Martin Luther King Jr. to Mahatma Gandhi and many more leaders before us, these people have given us an example of what modern protests need in order to build unity and spread a core message to the world.
Third, No Kings Day appears to be a standalone event rather than a sustained effort. Even though many protests occur nationwide every day arguing for the same causes, it’s not enough to appear interconnected. The impact of a singular day — one moment in time — has died down, and we’re left with the question of what’s next. It is unclear what will happen moving forward, which makes the effect of No Kings Day limited in time and strength.
What Needs To Change
When all is said and done, in order to create the change No Kings Day demonstrators are actively seeking, they themselves need to alter their course of action. They need to think bigger and turn “No Kings Day” into a “No Kings Movement.”
Protestors have to agree on the messaging they want to portray. While there are many important reasons why they are fighting, they need to prioritize certain issues first. People can get the change they want done, but they must take steps to fix things piece by piece. If select problems can be solved first, that builds more momentum to recognize and fix other issues as well. For example, in the coming weeks and months, prioritizing the remediation of issues that have arisen because of the government shutdown and a change in immigration policy may be at the forefront of people’s protesting efforts. If change is made in those sectors, demonstrators can additionally home in on other issues. But ultimately, what needs to be created is a distinct movement with one unified message; multiple overlapping messages are difficult to follow for legislators and protestors alike.
A concrete form of leadership is also necessary to manifest the narrative of a singular message. While it is realistically true that the most effective political change can be made at the federal level, creating a spread-out movement with no central leader makes it difficult for politicians to follow the people’s demands for change. Having a figurehead representing them gives credibility to their efforts, bringing a voice of reason to the political stage. Whether it be a politician, an activist, or someone who has personally experienced the shortcomings of the Trump Administration, this person should emerge as a mediator between the people and the government, giving politicians with power the opportunity to hear the ideas of a collective voice from one person.
Finally, in order to really home in on this idea of a day becoming a movement, there must be a continuously sustained effort that makes headlines. The “No Kings” slogan should not just be limited to a particular day — it should be the unifying message tying protests and people together as a whole. People need to think bigger than rallying with this message on one day. Every day must be stronger than the next, building off the momentum of October 18 and allowing it to bleed into people’s actions and words. Think about the Civil Rights Movement, the Women’s Suffrage Movement, and many more movements before and after them. They all had certain days that made a huge impact, just like No Kings Day is doing right now, but were all also part of a broader movement during a sustained period of time.
What people need to work toward is protesting every day, establishing their singular message under the guidance of concrete leadership and taking the “No Kings” slogan with them in the process. They have to organize protests locally and call upon their peers to do the same in other influential areas and online platforms. Taking the idea that they will not bend to tyrannical power, protestors must continue spreading this message through consistent demonstrations, networking events, online petitions, journalistic outlets, and more. By exhausting a laundry list of methods to attract support for the cause, protestors can establish a bigger movement.
With that being said, this points to the role of the media in spreading the “No Kings” slogan. The media is one of the most powerful forms of pressure nowadays, and it is crucial to allow this message to be forced into the conversation. But in order for it to be effectively used to promote change, it has to keep turning out new stories and new reasons why change is necessary. People need to post and repost stories on their social media, journalists need to write articles about protesting efforts, and in general, just make the effort to speak openly about their opinions and the ongoings of the movement at large. All of this under the unified message of “No Kings” and the specific goals that come with that call to action. This is the premise of making a difference on the national level.
No Kings Day shines light on how powerful humanity can be amid challenging circumstances. People can still come together through their beliefs and exhibit love and hope despite anger about the current state of politics. But in order for them to be effective, they must make a change in their strategy — create momentum, build upon it, and demand for change through it. That is how they can turn a day into a movement.
Featured Image Source: ABC News
