# October 18, 2025 "No Kings" Protests **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 15, 2025, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/october-18-2025-no-kings-protests/1023993 "2025-10-15T14:10:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2025, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/october-18-2025-no-kings-protests/1023993/201 "2025-10-19T12:10:29Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > **They’ve become too large to ignore.** My bold. Ahhhhhhh! 💡 (light bulb moment) A necessary step accomplished! ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2025, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/october-18-2025-no-kings-protests/1023993/202 "2025-10-19T12:31:36Z")
I just went on Amazon and bought that shirt. Dammit, I can’t let these people cower me. I want to remain proud to be an American. It’s getting harder every day. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2025, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/october-18-2025-no-kings-protests/1023993/203 "2025-10-19T12:44:22Z")
[![Google Photos](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczN9Dl0E-pLKpIbphSlv6tX4veDRvPswiZtUq9PDSZwH9IRwZblCcsHlt-0mO5_69zxezRSW6jX7cRrDXejYJbaJlXLu7nu2mWqNwSgsfWZv2gM8tk4=w600-h315-p-k "New photo · Saturday, Oct 18 📸") ](https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipMnwpONI5Z_N_LW2AYKq7KcSW6CTr7zUnf4z8NZzdWm-7mzYLD4cLVQmLqdmVOu9A?key=bG96UUJNYWFONnFKb040dF9kd2lMSkhZYnlmcHlB) Photo from the rally at the statehouse in Topeka. I don’t think it was a whole lot bigger than the one back in June, maybe about 6 or 7 thousand. But there have been more and more “young” people (i.e. under 40) showing up than at the first couple of rallies, which were mostly older vets and retirees. There was another rally scheduled in Lawrence later in the afternoon. We didn’t go since we had a grandkid’s birthday party to go to in the afternoon after we got back to town, and were too worn out for another rally after that. But the reports this morning put the attendance at 8 or 9 thousand. Also… the GOP supermajority is attempting to call a special session to redraw congressional maps to try to oust popular Democratic congresswoman Sharice Davids from her KC area seat. (Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly is refusing to call the session and they are attempting to override her.) Protests are planned at and in the capitol if the special session happens. We’ll be there! ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2025, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/october-18-2025-no-kings-protests/1023993/204 "2025-10-19T12:54:07Z")
I have read that Chicago had 100,000+ people in attendance. My pic below of the crowd is not great because I am not very tall and the whole park was filled (and Grant Park is big). So there are some pic from news media that show the size better (I am in there somewhere…probably). Everything was very well organized. Chicago police presence was heavy but all the police were very polite and just let things roll with no fuss. They had the march route completely cutoff to traffic. ICE was nowhere to be seen (not surprised, they could not possibly face a crowd like that). An hour of speeches (including mayor Johnson and Illinois governor Pritzker). ETA: Out of pure chance I found myself walking next to actor Bob Odenkirk. That was pretty cool (I did not bother him for a pic). [![](https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/0f312d8/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2498x1324+0+0/resize/840x445!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F9a%2Fc5%2F21228c75413397533a1d6f38e17e%2Fscreenshot-2025-10-18-at-2-57-04-pm.png) ](https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/0f312d8/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2498x1324+0+0/resize/840x445!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F9a%2Fc5%2F21228c75413397533a1d6f38e17e%2Fscreenshot-2025-10-18-at-2-57-04-pm.png) Courtesy of NBC Chicago [![](https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/b478967/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2358x1324+0+0/resize/840x472!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F6c%2F28%2Fd547462a40199601f78c8daefef5%2Fscreenshot-2025-10-18-at-3-14-30-pm.png) ](https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/b478967/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2358x1324+0+0/resize/840x472!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F6c%2F28%2Fd547462a40199601f78c8daefef5%2Fscreenshot-2025-10-18-at-3-14-30-pm.png) Courtesy of NBC Chicago [![](https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/03fce90/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2016x1512+0+0/resize/840x630!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F81%2F89%2Fb563acf54e2494d5df175b2d4b3b%2Fcliff-dwellers-2.jpg) ](https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/03fce90/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2016x1512+0+0/resize/840x630!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F81%2F89%2Fb563acf54e2494d5df175b2d4b3b%2Fcliff-dwellers-2.jpg) Provided by Ken Circo/Circo Architects [[Album] imgur.com ![](https://i.imgur.com/XcAbR9j.jpeg?fb "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/a/J2pfIpk) Courtesy Whack-a-Mole [[Album] imgur.com ![](https://i.imgur.com/NY0TLMh.jpeg?fb "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/a/YfoPJ9H) Courtesy Whack-a-Mole ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2025, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/october-18-2025-no-kings-protests/1023993/205 "2025-10-19T12:55:50Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > The problem really, really isn’t what he looks like. And joining him in fat shaming doesn’t strike me as a good look. How about his intellectual impairment? Is that fair game, or is that over the line too? ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2025, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/october-18-2025-no-kings-protests/1023993/206 "2025-10-19T13:01:13Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Nonviolent civil disobedience seems to me to be the next reasonable step; but it needs to be coordinated and needs to have clear objectives, and these objectives need to be in line with American norms. Well said. I like the idea of a city wide strike that would make COVID look like a walk in the park. We must be careful though. “He who fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby become a monster”- Friedrich Nietzsche ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2025, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/october-18-2025-no-kings-protests/1023993/207 "2025-10-19T13:03:07Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > The problem really, really isn’t what he looks like. And joining him in fat shaming doesn’t strike me as a good look. Ordinarily I would agree but Trump portrays himself as a healthy, virile man and MAGA puts out pics like this of him: [![](https://cowboystatedaily.imgix.net/Collage-Maker-15-Dec-2022-03.35-PM.jpg?ixlib=js-3.8.0&q=75&auto=format%2Ccompress) ](https://cowboystatedaily.imgix.net/Collage-Maker-15-Dec-2022-03.35-PM.jpg?ixlib=js-3.8.0&q=75&auto=format%2Ccompress) He deserves to be mocked for it. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2025, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/october-18-2025-no-kings-protests/1023993/208 "2025-10-19T13:12:07Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > (I am in there somewhere…probably). I see you! I see you! 👋🏽 * * * * * * > [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > How about his intellectual impairment? Is that fair game, or is that over the line too? Not at all, because that directly affects the way he ~~does~~ fucks up his job. Besides, Pritzger, the guy I want to run, is fat, too. But smart. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2025, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/october-18-2025-no-kings-protests/1023993/209 "2025-10-19T13:26:42Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > > [@thorny\_locust](#): > > > > The problem really, really isn’t what he looks like. And joining him in fat shaming doesn’t strike me as a good look. > > How about his intellectual impairment? Is that fair game, or is that over the line too If it’s done in a fashion that lumps him in with everyone else with such impairment, then no, it isn’t. His willful ignorance is certainly fair game, for both mockery and other forms of criticism. Pointing out his likely state of health, likely dementia included, is fair game for political speech but not in the form of mockery. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2025, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/october-18-2025-no-kings-protests/1023993/210 "2025-10-19T14:18:49Z")
Trump keeping it classy: 🙄 > **[Trump posts AI video of himself bombing protesters with brown liquid](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-truth-social-no-kings-ai-video-b2847976.html)** > > The president’s video comes after weeks of Republican complaints about violent political rhetoric on the left > After spending the day golfing while his allies downplayed and [mocked millions of Americans marching against his administration](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/no-kings-protest-trump-today-live-updates-b2847817.html), Donald Trump fired off a [Truth Social post](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115398251623299921) with an AI-created video showing himself wearing a crown, flying a “KING TRUMP” fighter jet, and bombing a crowd of [No Kings protesters](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/no-kings-trump-protests-numbers-b2847940.html) with brown liquid. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2025, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/october-18-2025-no-kings-protests/1023993/211 "2025-10-19T14:36:07Z")
I’m terrible at estimating crowd size, but here at the Washington State capitol, I’d ay there were maybe 4,000 people. The speakers were excellent, the crowd enthusiastic. We recognized the many veterans in our ranks and sang The Star Spangled Banner. I choked up and couldn’t sing. I kept thinking about those who lost their lives and those who devoted their lives for this country. This is not the America they sacrificed for. Those who recall my post saying my elderly neighbor and dog were joining me will be relieved to know that neither did. Honestly, it would’ve been fine if they did, but her hip was bothering her, so I went alone. Probably my favorite sign read, “We’re all the couch now.” Below is a (not so great) photo of my sign. My mom worked at Sears HQ in Chicago, then put in a full shift at a war plane factory to help the war effort. She was a riveter. Her name was Rose. [[Album] imgur.com ![](https://i.imgur.com/6CsZcsM.jpeg?fb "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/a/asvFxmq) ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2025, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/october-18-2025-no-kings-protests/1023993/212 "2025-10-19T14:38:49Z")
nm…I had the wrong “No Kings Day” estimate. In Olympia, the one in June had 5,000+ people. I would think this one was bigger but that’s the ballpark for Olympia it seems so 4,000 estimate seems close. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2025, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/october-18-2025-no-kings-protests/1023993/213 "2025-10-19T14:55:37Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > I kept thinking about those who lost their lives and those who devoted their lives for this country. This is not the America they sacrificed for. Oh, you mean those “_losers_”?? 🤬 * * * > [@nelliebly](#): > > My mom worked at Sears HQ in Chicago, then put in a full shift at a war plane factory to help the war effort. She was a riveter. Her name was Rose. Wow! Go, Mom! 🫡 ---
**Author:** ![bobsmom101](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobsmom101/32/2867_2.png) [@bobsmom101](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobsmom101)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2025, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/october-18-2025-no-kings-protests/1023993/214 "2025-10-19T14:57:55Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > My mom worked at Sears HQ in Chicago, Hey _high five_! My mom was in charge of a department at Montgomery Wards in Chicago because all the men were in the army. When they came back she got married and started pumping out babies. I didn’t realize until much later what a comedown that must have been in her life. She was a smart, capable woman. I wish I had been a less self-absorbed child and had gotten to know her better – you know, as a person in her own right, not as my “mom.” ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2025, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/october-18-2025-no-kings-protests/1023993/215 "2025-10-19T15:03:44Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > Those who recall my post saying my elderly neighbor and dog were joining me will be relieved to know that neither did. Honestly, it would’ve been fine if they did, but her hip was bothering her, so I went alone. It is completely understandable if your neighbor could not make it. For any reason really but health reasons are easy to understand. It can be arduous when older to do something like this. Some did though. In Chicago: > Marilyn Ricken, 80, was in the crowd, having arrived with three friends, two of whom relied on walkers to move around. > > Ms. Ricken, a retired insurance agent, had been at the No Kings rally in June but said Saturday’s event came with a deeper sense of urgency. “This is how change happens,” she said as nearby protesters signed their names at the bottom of a large replica of the U.S. Constitution. - [SOURCE](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/18/us/protests-trump-no-kings.html) Note: The above is NOT meant to shame your neighbor but rather to celebrate the effort it takes some to attend. It is not easy for everyone (and completely understandable if it is just too much for some). FWIW: I did not see any dogs at the Chicago rally. There probably were some but rare. I think most people understood it just was not a good environment for a dog. If someone was in a smaller city and the rally was a few hundred it might be fine to bring your dog. Not for something as big as the big cities get though. ---
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2025, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/october-18-2025-no-kings-protests/1023993/216 "2025-10-19T15:06:30Z")
Just thought you might get a kick out of this. Over at Breitbart they’re portraying it as a giant Furries Festival. In the comments section people are getting quite the reaction from the MAGAs from lines like “No Kings: 7 million people, no violence and virtually no arrests. J6: A few thousand people, five dead, 1500 arrested” and “No Kings: People dress like animals and everyone has fun. J6: People act like animals and fling feces like monkeys” It’s not that the burns are sick, it’s that they’re really landing. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2025, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/october-18-2025-no-kings-protests/1023993/217 "2025-10-19T15:13:33Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > I’m terrible at estimating crowd size I have lower confidence in my ability to estimate the local protest’s size because it didn’t take the form of most crowd sizes, i.e. it wasn’t a solid 2-d block of people. It was all 4 corners of a major intersection, with each of the 8 sidewalks having a line of people for several hundred feet, but it rarely had multiple people standing directly behind each other. So if it took up 1500 feet of frontage, there were fewer than 1500 people in there because while there were people behind the main line, there were also some gaps, probably in equal proportions, and people don’t take up 1 foot of space anyway. So probably 500 people. But it wasn’t the only gathering in the county. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2025, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/october-18-2025-no-kings-protests/1023993/218 "2025-10-19T15:33:17Z")
One thing I did notice at the Chicago rally was there were very, very few black people. It was largely white and Latino. I dunno why. If we could get the black community engaged in this it would only get better and more powerful. I’d think they’d care about this too. They are certainly being affected, in a bad way, by Trump’s policies. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2025, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/october-18-2025-no-kings-protests/1023993/219 "2025-10-19T16:07:32Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Anyone still wondering if these demonstrations are a waste of time? If it switches to inconveniencing swing voters, that will backfire. But so far, so good. Just remember that there is no way to stop MAGA except elections. Here is the model for successful protest in the current U.S. era: [Do Political Protests Matter? Evidence from the Tea Party Movement](https://www.ne.su.se/polopoly_fs/1.100986.1347624882!/menu/standard/file/Do_political_protests_matter.pdf) Answer is yes — big tea party protests helped get us in this mess. Large numbers of legal no kings protesters can help us get out of it. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2025, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/october-18-2025-no-kings-protests/1023993/220 "2025-10-19T16:15:26Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > One thing I did notice at the Chicago rally was there were very, very few black people. It was largely white and Latino. True of Ferndale as well, though that might be representative of the population demographics there. We had a lot of Black people drive by honking, though, so I’d like to think they were on their way to the Detroit protests. I’m still in a good mood from yesterday. A lot of my fear has receded. I felt like a coward when I was just doing nothing. When I became a social worker, I signed up for this fight, but I didn’t know the fight would ever be so risky, or the government would be so hostile to my work. But now I’m doing what I can, and it just feels better. I’m going to keep working at it. Chipping away at my own fear and paralysis one action at a time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/october-18-2025-no-kings-protests/1023993.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/october-18-2025-no-kings-protests/1023993.md?page=12)