The long winding road back to democratic power started Saturday on Main Street and will finish on Pennsylvania Avenue. Agents of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement have brutally ruled the streets since the start of President Trump’s second term. But on “No Kings Day,” millions of proud and patriotic Americans took their turn on broad avenues and in public parks across our great nation to protest Donald Trump’s imperial presidency.
The broad coalition of anti-Trump activists will need to keep the heat on to overcome King Donald’s mighty institutional advantages. The big question is what comes next for the broad coalition of people hostile to His Majesty’s royal rule.
MAGA owns Washington, lock, stock and barrel as federal troops patrol the nation’s capital. The Republican Party has the White House, Congress and the Supreme Court wrapped up in an ugly ruby red bow. With the support of his loyal retainers in Congress and on the Supreme Court, the king has been able to rule by royal decree through executive orders.
To bring down Trump and his loyal court of retainers, patriotic Americans must fight a guerilla war against the empire — a war that began in the streets Saturday. Military strategists call it “asymmetrical warfare.” The current Democratic Senate filibuster is part of that plan. Senate Democrats are making good use of their limited minority power to protect Americans from health care cuts and increases in medical insurance premiums. Trump needs 60 votes to pass his spending bill, and there are only 53 Republican senators.
Trump entered the White House in his second term loaded for bear. With the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 serving as the blueprint, the administration began its hostile takeover of the U.S. government. It will take a herculean and heroic effort to take the system back.
The only place where the king is vulnerable is in the court of public opinion. National polls demonstrate Trump’s vulnerability. The big turnout Saturday reflected public hostility towards the king with no clothes. A new YouGov national survey has his approval rating underwater by 12 points. Few of his not-so-loyal subjects believe he is being honest with them.
During his campaign last year, he told voters he would release the Jeffrey Epstein files, end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours and bring consumer prices down on Day One of his second term. Liar, liar, royal pantaloons on fire.
Democratic control of the House of Representatives after the midterm elections won’t stop Trump, but it will slow him down until the presidential turnover in 2029. The new House majority would hold the authority to conduct intensive investigations into widespread corruption in his palace on Pennsylvania Avenue. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has used his authority to bury every hint of Trump wrongdoing, starting with the suppression of the files that detail notorious Epstein island sexcapades.
Despite widespread public disapproval of Trump’s pathetic presidency, there are institutional obstacles to Democratic efforts to retake the House. A major item on this year’s ballot is Proposition 50 which California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), a presidential hopeful, has put before the voters to create as many as five additional congressional seats for his party. But Texas and Missouri have already added additional Republican seats. And still more MAGA congressional representation might come if the Supreme Court invalidates Section Two of the Voting Rights Act. The long, hard battle to retake the House began with mass meetings on No Kings Day. Every political journey begins with millions of single steps.
The only way for Democrats and progressives to surmount Republicans’ institutional edge is through people power. Democrats need the popular energy generated by “No Kings” to turn up the heat on Trump and his movement. His base of radical right extremists have served him loyally through hell and high water. Now it is time for the Democratic base of progressive activists to rise to the same level of intensity without the violence that stigmatizes the Trump acolytes.
Hopefully, Newsom, the Democratic candidates for governor — Abagail Spanberger in Virginia and Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey — and mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani in New York City will channel the force produced on Oct. 18 to win their races on Nov. 4. If they fail to take advantage of this popular force, the monarchy will endure and the future of our great democracy will be in mortal peril.
Brad Bannon is a national Democratic strategist and CEO of Bannon Communications Research which polls for Democrats, labor unions and progressive issue groups. He hosts the popular progressive podcast on power, politics and policy, Deadline D.C. with Brad Bannon.
