The hitherto silent majority didn't just speak up, they screamed

The No King's Day was a resounding success. Bigger than the June event, but what's next?

There can be no doubt that the protest numbers spoke for themselves over the weekend, but the burning question is, ‘So what?’ And this is a question we must ask ourselves in the aftermath of a resounding success. It shattered the narrative that this was going to be a ‘hate America march’, attended by radical left Hamas-supporting domestic terrorists. On the contrary, it was a joyful expression of solidarity in the face of tyranny. A resounding act of dissent that resonated with audiences around the world.

This morning, however, the administration can relax and return to business as usual because the streets are empty and all that remains is a fading warm glow in the minds of those opposing the tyranny America is being subjected to each and every day. For me, the overwhelming takeaway is that there is now a very robust organising mechanism that can efficiently organise direct action against the administration, and that is absolutely vital moving forward. ‘No Kings’ is now an essential brand that those opposing tyranny can coalesce around moving forward.

For the brand to work effectively for the people, it needs to have a robust technology infrastructure built around it to construct a non-partisan database of those who want to be part of a collective non-partisan opposition. This, in my view, cannot be a Democratic Party-led project. I would remind you that while this weekend, Democratic lawmakers fell over themselves to be part of the protest, in June, all but a handful of them ran a mile to distance themselves from it for fear of being tarnished by and adverse publicity it might garner. Yet another example of their aversion to risk, when in politics it’s always the bold and the risk-takers who make history.

The Polls are very clear: the public has little faith in Democrats to represent their interests best, and this is something that has to be addressed at some point, regardless of how uncomfortable that reality is. Anyone who thinks that the MAGA strategy is anything but well-funded and a finely tuned ‘in it to win it at all costs’ operation is beyond delusional. They have an army of propaganda specialists that will include human psychology experts working with a team of highly proficient messaging specialists. They are fielding an all-star team at the moment that operates without the hindrance of rules of engagement, moral decency or integrity. They are the political apex predators who cannot afford to lose, and it shows every day.

I’ll be accused again of attacking the Democrats. If that is your view, you are, I’m afraid, part of the problem, not the solution. I’m not here to pat you on the back because 7 million people turned out against a monster in the White House. Well done. Now, can we move on?

I’m here to ask, as ‘Jed Bartlet’ would say, ‘What’s next?’, because two protests four months apart will deliver nothing but the warm glow you feel right now from bearing witness to the most significant political protest in US history. Congratulation. I repeat ‘So What?’ If you think Trump is listening or frightened, you have an inability to read the room. He could not care less, and lots of democrats helped him make that point by rage-posting his stupid video all day yesterday. It was embarrassing to see Dems capture the narrative on Saturday, only to hand it back to Trump on Sunday, wrapped in a shiny red bow.

Despite what Democrats may feel, I’m on your side. In a two-party system, you have to back one of two horses, and right now, Trump is drowning in negative approval ratings. This should mean Democrats are surging, right? WRONG, this is simply not the case. Democrats have an unfavorability rating of around 64% with unfavorability running at 33%. I am struggling to understand what part of ‘voters don’t trust you’ Democrats are struggling with? They keep protesting time and time again, ‘That’s not true, look at the special election results, ’ to which I keep saying these are not votes for a Democratic Party vision, THERE ISN’T ONE. These are votes AGAINST THE TRUMP VISION; they are very different things.

Maybe I should stop writing about it because I feel I’m screaming into the void and just pissing people off. However, this is what I would say to anyone prepared to listen: if your vision is to win because the people hate the other guy, then you have learned nothing from the catastrophic election defeat in November. The shutdown fight is, without question, a winner from the point of view that Democrats are fighting to protect all Americans from the impact of the ACA subsidies expiring at the end of the year. There is no question that their expiry will hit Trump voters harder than the Democrats, but it’s a clear indicator that this is not about politics, because it’s not, or at least it shouldn’t be.

This should be a time when Democrats are putting together a shadow cabinet to speak to promote a counter agenda to support American families, not drive them into poverty. Of course, they can’t pass legislation, but what they can do is engage with the public on how differently they would handle the measures Trump is imposing on America every day with his increasing number of ludicrous proclamations. This is about reading the room, LISTENING to the voters and creating an awareness of how things will be different under a new ‘people first’ Democratic agenda. My gut feeling, however, is that they are not committed to a people-first agenda, but rather to their own donor class’s agenda. Somebody has to say it, so it might as well be me.

The way I see it is Democrats had better hope Trump crashes the economy, because I hate to say it, if this comes down to saving democracy or money in people’s pockets, it will be a close call, and I really don’t know which way it will go. That’s another harsh reality to come to terms with, I know. The danger of sitting around waiting for the other guy to set himself on fire is, you might drop the match and set fire to yourself first.

If there’s one thing the protests this weekend showed, it's that this is an apolitical fight. Democrats must bring along independents and pre-Trump Republicans in a coalition of the willing with common-sense American values. I’ve written at length about the 90 million people who sat it out in November; many of these people weren’t lazy, they simply felt neither of the parties represented their values. It’s just that the political class refuses to accept this uncomfortable truth.

Even if Democrats dismissed the MAGA base as unreachable, there’s a pool of 90 million disenfranchised voters to go fishing for. If you’d like to read a little more about my thoughts on that, take a look at the piece below:

The only consistent demands of those voters are that they will not accept more of the same old same old. I hate to say it, but it appears to me that Democrats are simply incapable of delivering anything else unless they clean house and put forward a new proposition to American voters. The truth of the matter is, Trump is failing on almost every single front.

Chart from CNBC, Oct 17 2025

It should be a no-brainer, and yet Democrats have no meaningful response beyond the fight for ACA subsidies and the same tired old ‘Trump is a fascist’ card. I’m happy to be proved wrong, but I fear I won’t be. On the other hand, if there were an Olympic medal for sending endless begging emails out to anyone who has made the mistake of providing their email address to the DNC, which it seems will sell it anyway to the highest bidder, they would be Olympic champions.

Are Democrats beyond help? I certainly hope not, because despite all their failings, they remain the only game in town. Any third party will simply split the vote. The political talent within the Democratic Party is off the charts, capable of not just winning this, but winning it big. However, until you let them off the leash, I’m afraid the outlook remains bleak, to say the least. This is about LISTENING to the public and reading the room. I can’t believe that it is so difficult for leadership unless they have no intention of listening. If that’s the case, I don’t know why we are all wasting our time.

If you are new here and now want to say ‘stop criticising and tell us what to do’, I suggest you read my earlier pieces and the recommendations I have been making for a while now. You could start with the article below:

Tomorrow, I finally want to get off this merry-go-round and focus back in on the economy, because that is where the real stress point is right now.

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