The left's "No Kings" protests that took place Saturday aren't the grassroots movements they pretend to be. They're slick, coordinated productions, complete with sponsors, training, and a lot of people with nothing better to do on a weekend.
I’ve been to real protests—small groups holding signs, big crowds that showed up because they cared, with no one handing out instruction manuals or cutting checks. That was activism. What we're seeing now from the radical left is something else entirely: astroturfing on an industrial scale.
During a live Newsmax broadcast from the National Mall, correspondent Alana Austin found herself face to face with exactly the kind of protester too stupid to realize they’ve said too much. The woman, sporting pink hair and clutching signs with Antifa imagery, identified herself as an "anti-fascist" but swore she wasn't formally part of "Antifa." Sure.
What came next was the real kicker. When Austin asked about the protest's peaceful vibe, the woman didn't hesitate. "We've all been told to be peaceful," she explained matter-of-factly. "We've had training on how to be peaceful and to deescalate."
Training.
As in organized, structured instruction on how to behave at a protest.
Austin didn't get the chance to follow up on who exactly provided this training or which organization bankrolled it, but the admission alone punctures the myth that these movements are leaderless and organic. When the protester was asked to show her Antifa-marked sign more clearly, she refused. Funny how that works.
Organizers included members of the Democratic Socialists of America and an assortment of other left-wing activist groups. And that’s what really gets me about it—the structured coordination lurking beneath it. The protester's casual mention of training contradicts activists' favorite talking points that the people are “rising up” against Trump. If you’re being paid and trained to be a protester, you’re not a protester, you’re a contractor.
That said, the good thing about this is that they were trained to be peaceful. It’s a pleasant change from the rioting, violence, and destruction that we’ve grown used to from anything associated with Antifa. I guess some highly-paid PR consultant told them that violence is a bad look, and they must have gotten the message.
Nevertheless, the Trump administration and the Justice Department continue treating Antifa as a domestic terror organization, and federal authorities have vowed to investigate protest networks tied to violence against police or property. As they should.
Newsmax has more:
Generally, daytime activist demonstrations in Democrat-run cities throughout America have been peaceful, but later at night, antifa reporter Andy Ngo has told Newsmax, the violent activists act out against him and law enforcement.
Ngo has been beaten to near death by antifa protesters, he told Trump at a White House roundtable.
While left-leaning media and antifa protesters are decrying Trump's consideration of invoking the Insurrection Act to defend America and keep citizens safe, Vice President JD Vance called it a deflection from the harsh realities on the ground.
"The problem is not the Insurrection Act," Vance told NBC News' "Meet the Press" last Sunday. "The problem is that the entire media in this country, cheered on by a few far-left lunatics, have made it OK to tee off on American law enforcement."
Vance told NBC's Kristen Welker that Trump is "looking at all of the options," including the Insurrection Act of 1807, as violent attacks against immigration enforcement officers rise.
The “No Kings” protests aren’t organic uprisings—they’re well-funded, stage-managed productions, complete with directors, scripts, and professional agitators playing their parts. This isn’t grassroots outrage; it’s political theater designed to look organic while serving the interests of Democrat power brokers. Real protests don’t need instruction manuals, training, and a payroll. Manufactured ones always do.
Editor’s Note: The Schumer Shutdown is still ongoing, and polls are now showing Americans are increasingly blaming the Democrats for this mess, but we can’t let them spin their way out of it.
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