What does the radical left actually stand for? That’s the real question after watching the latest round of “No Kings” protests. We’re told these demonstrations are some kind of spontaneous uprising against so-called authoritarianism—but that’s pure theater. What’s really happening is a carefully choreographed performance by a network of professional activists, funded and directed by the same radical organizations that have been running this playbook for years. It looks spontaneous, but it’s about as grassroots as an astroturf lawn.
Follow the money and you’ll see how tightly orchestrated this all is—but that’s not the real secret. The real story here is the hypocrisy hiding in plain sight. These are the same activists who cheered on unprecedented government overreach when it served their political goals—lockdowns, censorship, weaponized agencies, all of it. Their outrage isn’t about “authoritarianism.” It’s about losing control of it.
The truth is, they want a king. Back in 2012, CNN contributor Dean Obeidallah accidentally let that slip in an op-ed defending Barack Obama. Writing about liberals who were disappointed in Obama’s presidency, he admitted, “What’s clear is that the liberals speaking out don’t want a president—they want a king.”
Funny how that works. pic.twitter.com/5t75Fwt14X
— Matt Margolis (@mattmargolis) October 19, 2025
Obeidallah was trying to excuse Obama’s failures, but what he revealed was how the modern left truly views power. They don’t respect the separation of powers or the constitutional limits on executive authority when it stands in the way of their agenda. They want someone who can rule by decree—as long as he shares their politics.
And Obama delivered. Amongst other things, in 2012, he unilaterally created DACA after admitting he didn’t have the constitutional authority to do so. In 2015, he bypassed the Senate to create the Iran nuclear deal and did the same in 2016 with the Paris Climate Agreement—both of which clearly qualified as treaties and required Senate ratification. Then, of course, came the spying on Donald Trump’s campaign and the effort to frame him for colluding with Russia.
ICYMI: Pink-Haired Protestor Says the Quiet Part Out Loud About the ‘No Kings’ Protests
Under Joe Biden, the fantasy became reality. The left got exactly what it wanted: sweeping mandates, defiance of the courts, and a Justice Department weaponized to target political opponents. Americans were arrested for going to church or walking on the beach during the pandemic. Biden ignored court rulings on eviction bans and student loans. Parents who spoke up at school board meetings were labeled as threats. And through it all, the same people now marching in the streets cheered every bit of it.
It’s hard to take seriously a movement screaming about “tyranny” when these same people applauded as Obama and Biden trampled liberty, ruled by executive decree, and tried to imprison President Trump. Where were their “No Kings” signs then?
These protesters don’t actually fear kings—they fear losing power. They don’t oppose authoritarianism; they just want to be the ones in charge of it. That’s the left’s big secret.
