David Pope in Canberra Times
* * * *
A turning point.
June 14, 2025
Robert B. Hubbell
Jun 15, 2025
It will take days or weeks to understand the scale and number of pro-democracy rallies on June 14, 2025. It will take years to understand that No Kings Day was the turning point in reversing the anti-democratic authoritarianism of Trump's second term. But for the millions of Americans who participated in the rallies, change was in the air. This time, it was different.
The difference wasn’t just the doubling, tripling, and quadrupling in size over prior protests in the same locations over the last four months, although that was a bracing and welcome development.
No, the sea change was in those who showed up to defend democracy. Yes, the older white cohort of retirees and 60s-civil-rights veterans were out in force. But so were young Latino men and women, abuelas and abuelos, Black Americans of all ages, LGBTQ people, people with disabilities, new citizens, green card holders, and migrants fearing deportation.
When the occasional urban-assault pick-up truck displaying Trump flags sped by with passengers extending their middle fingers, the hoots and hollers of protesters overwhelmed the revving engine and shrinking courage of pathetic little males pretending to be brave men. Their false bravado evaporated in the face of crowds who believed in something larger than themselves, something good and decent, something more permanent than an oversized pickup with off-road tires that will never leave the city streets.
The crowds felt their power and sensed the path forward. Victory lies in the collective will of the people. The thousands of protests across the nation were an order of magnitude larger than the limp, boring parade that feted the decline of an old man fifty years past his “prime.”
It will take the media until Monday to gain the first inkling of what happened on Saturday. A video shared on Substack by Medha Murtagh shows the massive demonstrations in major cities across the US and deserves to be watched! It will not only inspire you, but it will also help you understand that (so far) the media is grossly underreporting the scale and size of the protests. See Substack Note by Medha Murtagh.
But the true significance of the protests was in the number of “small” protests across the nation—especially in “red” states and cities where Democrats usually keep their heads down to avoid being noticed.
I received hundreds of photos from readers (a sampling posted below). The most inspiring posts were from cities and towns deep in the heart of red states, where the fact that dozens or hundreds showed up to protest was astounding! But over and over again, I received reports that crowds in the thousands showed up in towns where the population was below ten thousand.
I received reports from Americans abroad (and friends of America) who rallied in the UK, Mexico, Portugal, Germany, and at sea in international waters. I received a photo of a reader who had quadruple bypass surgery on Friday and was holding a “No Kings” sign in his hospital bed on Saturday. I received photos of seniors in wheelchairs in care facilities and at protests. Friends sent photos of young children and teens accompanying them to protests. Dozens of readers reported that they attended their first protest ever on No Kings Day, and many were overcome with emotions of joy and relief.
My wife and I brought 200 handheld flags to a rally in Woodland Hills. We offered them to the participants at the rally. The flags were gone in ten minutes. People ran up to me to get a flag, stopped and walked back when they realized they could get one, offered to pay (which I refused), or took a flag and handed it to a friend, spouse, teenager, etc.
There was a sea change on No Kings Day. But the sea change was the beginning, not the end. The protests must continue—and become larger, more dispersed, and more forceful in their demands for change.
Bless everyone who attended a rally in person or in spirit on No Kings Day! Keep up the great work!
In closing, I express my sympathy and condolences to the families of the Minnesota legislators and family members who were killed and wounded over the weekend. More on that story tomorrow, when we will hopefully have more information. But we know enough to understand that the shootings were politically motivated assassination attempts—a type of violence that takes root in hateful rhetoric that demonizes political opponents. I addressed the assassinations and our response in my Saturday live stream.
Taos, NM
Alameda, CA
Ocean County, NJ
Athens, Georgia
Springfield, MA
Hartford, CT
Visalia, CA
Culver City, CA
Philadelphia, PA
Springfield MA
Atlanta, Ga.
[Thanks to Robert B. Hubbell's newsletter]
