No Commissars

I am sure that many of the No Kings protestors are still basking in the glow of satisfaction (and the accompanying blast of dopamine) which they got from telling the world how they really feel about Donald Trump. A recent Wall Street Journal commentary described these protests around the world as a type of group therapy. Ironically, but not surprisingly, the protest songs were led by Bruce Springsteen who is now ranked among the hated billionaires that Bernie Sanders and Zohran Mamdani want to get rid of. And while many of the protestors were earnest and well-meaning the protest themselves were well organized and well-funded by left leaning organizations including George Soros’ Open Society.

But other than an opportunity to draw vile caricatures of the president, wear outlandish costumes and hobnob with fellow leftwingers who all share the same opinions, what have the protestors accomplished? More importantly, what did they want to accomplish? They wanted the world to know how much they dislike President Trump. But we already knew that. He only has a 36% approval rating. But what policies do the No Kings protestors actually want to change? That is unclear but we can get a bit of an idea from the plethora of signs they brandish at these and other protests.

The protestors want to ban ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement). But controlling immigration and controlling goods coming into a country (whether legal or smuggled) are essential sovereign powers of any country. And all countries have these functions. Having lived overseas I know all the special visas and permits required to enter and work in any country. And American citizens by a wide margin approve of Trump’s closing of Biden’s open border. Deportations may be an issue but deportations have occurred in every administration and, in fact, there were more deportations every year during the Obama administration than during Trump’s first administration. It is true that deportations have increased in Trump’s second administration but that is at least partially due to the huge increase in illegal border crossings during the Biden administration. The real problem appears to be the manner in which the deportations are conducted more than the number of deportations. An overwhelming majority of American support closing our border to illegal immigration and a CBS/YouGov poll reports that 60% of registered voters support deportation of illegal and especially criminal illegals (78%). Reforming ICE rather than eliminating it along with its deportations of illegal aliens seems to be more in line with what the American public wants.

The No Kings protestors are clearly against Trump’s war on Iran but I think most people believe that Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu’s war on Iran was ill considered as it has turned into a quagmire of shocking proportions that has spread across the Middle East (that is the nature of war). And a majority of Americans are opposed to the war but not by as much as our No Kings protestors would want us to think. RealClearPolitics reports an average of polls show 53% oppose military action while 40% approve. And I believe a vast majority would like to end the war sooner rather than later, including President Trump. The question is how.

While many of the No Kings protestors might think all we need to do to stop the war is for the US and Israel to stop attacking Iran. They couldn’t be more wrong. That would be a disaster. Simply stopping the attacks would leave an empowered Iran in control of not only the Middle East but also of the world energy supply. Not only would Israel and millions of Jews be at much greater risk, people throughout the region would also be in danger of the fanatical religious zealots in control of that country. Keep in mind that this regime murdered 30,000 of its own citizens for doing exactly the same thing as the No Kings protestors.

I don’t know if President Trump thought about the possible consequences of his rash actions. But we are in it now and we have to see it through to the end, as I noted in my commentary, Finish the War (March 13, 2026). My biggest concern is that Trump will sell out the Iranian people just like he did the Venezuelans.

 The No Kings protestors believe that they are trying to protect democracy by resisting the actions of a President that was elected in a free and fair election. But it is true that Donald Trump finds the slow and erratic process of democracy frustrating while he admires the efficiency with which Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin can implement their policies. He often initiates actions that seem to be beyond the scope of his authority, daring his opponents to prove him wrong. It is ironic that the same Supreme Court justices that so outraged the progressive left when they frustrated Joe Biden’s unconstitutional actions such as forgiving all those student loans, are the same justices that are blocking Trump’s tariffs and other plans that stretch the boundaries of the Constitution. And Trump is not alone in finding democratic processes slow and ineffective. Bruce Gilley writes in the Wall Street Journal, What Do Democrats Mean by ‘Democracy’? saying “They claim Trump is an authoritarian, but their agenda seems to be ensuring one-party rule.”

So we know what the No Kings protestors are against. But it seems to me that many of the policies that they are against are actually relatively popular with the American people. Most Americans support a secure border, deporting illegal immigrants (especially criminals), and voter IDs to protect election integrity. What Americans are against are the extremes that the Trump administration has taken in implementing these policies. We don’t need SWAT teams in military vehicles to deport most people. Presidents Obama and Biden deported lots of people without SWAT teams. We want election integrity but we don’t want onerous requirements to solve a relatively minor problem that only the loser complain about.

So what are the No Kings protestors for. Ruy Teixeira writes in the Free Press that Democrats haven’t learned anything. That they refuse to believe that citizens elected Joe Biden over Donald Trump in 2020 because he posed as a centrist but hated his policies when he turned left after his inauguration. They seem to believe that dissatisfaction with President Trump is the same as their Trump Derangement Syndrome and the voting public will join them at the ballot box even after Trump is no longer on the ticket. They have had some success in off elections and likely will do well in 2026. But their TDS will motivate them to squander that majority on endless impeachment efforts that will result in nothing as the Senate will not convict.

It is possible that without Mr. Trump on the ballot in 2028, a relative moderate presidential candidate like Nikki Haley or Marco Rubio could win back RINOs, independents and even some moderate Democrats afraid of the radical politics of the progressive left. We don’t want any kings, but we don’t want any commissars either.