7 Things the No Kings Protests Accomplished

The political emergency isn't over, of course, but who thought it would be. Here are seven things this weekend's protests accomplished.

October 18 saw one of the largest protests in US history, with about seven million people across 2,700 locations expressing opposition to President Donald Trump’s authoritarian abuses under the label No Kings. In the aftermath, some have asked what, if anything, the protests accomplished. For anyone wondering about or encountering that question—in anything from genuine inquiry to sneering dismissal—this article offers an answer.

The political emergency of the United States backsliding from democracy into fascism isn’t over, of course. But who thought it would be? I doubt many No Kings protestors decided to attend while thinking “this will fix everything on its own, by the end of the week the country will be in great shape, I’ll never have to do anything else.”

Gaining control of governmental institutions requires elections, but a lot of the fight against authoritarianism is happening in civil society. With that in mind, here are seven things Saturday’s No Kings protests accomplished:

1–Tons of Americans Think Something is Wrong

The Trump regime’s efforts to control civil society depend on fear. They sue media companies, withhold university funding, send masked ICE officers to violate rights, and pump out an endless stream of propaganda. But they don’t have the capacity to impose their will on all American society. To make up the difference, they project an aura of popularity, domination, and inevitability. It’s false, but some buy it, and obey in anticipation, making the regime’s totalitarian desires closer to real.

Massive protests punctured that image. Millions of Americans showed they aren’t afraid, or if they are, that they won’t be intimidated. Trump may fantasize about shooting protestors, but soldiers didn’t try to put the demonstrations down with force, indicating he isn’t confident enough in his undemocratic power to order it. And counterprotests were nearly nonexistent.

The slogan “No Kings” is easy to grasp and aligns the opposition with America’s founding principles. Specific messages and demands vary, but that doesn’t really matter. The main message is unambiguous: Tons of Americans are not okay with what’s happening.

About two million more attended these protests than the first No Kings in June, showing that the opposition has momentum. We the People aren’t with Trump.

And the news broke through, reaching less engaged Americans. A YouGov poll found that a whopping 33% of the country either participated in the protests or know someone who did. No Kings was a topic, positive or negative, in all major information streams. People heard about it.

2–Opposition Solidarity

Authoritarian propaganda and abuses of power weigh on people. It can feel like “everyone” is okay with it, and “no one” cares. Or close.

That’s why being around so many others who object feels affirming. Big cities, small towns, red states, blue states — anti-Trump Americans showed up everywhere. If you have a problem with all this, you’re very far from alone.

I bet the protests made a lot of people feel a little better, which means something. Authoritarians want you to despair, and check out. The contrasting show of popular opposition is energizing.

3–Organizing

People met each other at protests, including some getting politically active for the first time, making connections that could blossom. The effect could be more pronounced in redder areas of the country where pro-democracy Americans might not personally know many who share their views.

For politics at the ground level, the unusually large protests presented an opportunity. Various organizers moved through crowds, getting signatures, passing out pamphlets, and seeking new members.

If just 1% of protest attendees signed up for something, and only a quarter of them follow through, that’d still be more than 15,000 new members, a banner day for organizing.

4–Entirely Peaceful

In advance of the protests, Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, and various MAGA figures denounced No Kings as violent antifa, pro-Hamas, anti-American radical leftist terrorists. The demonstrations were obviously not that—with tons of regular people, goofy inflatable costumes, and American flags—making Trump and Co. appear weak and ridiculous. Hardcore MAGA won’t care, of course, but some outside their bubble will notice.

The New York and San Diego police departments were among those that announced zero protest-related arrests. That not only speaks to the peaceful nature of the protests, it shows where big city police forces stand. They could have tried to sell Trump’s narrative by generating some disorderly conduct arrests. Instead, they undermined his message by publicizing the absence of violence.

5–Rattled Trump and MAGA

Saturday’s peaceful mass protest is one of the rare times reality overwhelmed Trump’s lies. MAGA largely dropped the fearmongering about violence, scrambling to find something else to say. A White House spokesperson tried telling reporters “who cares.” The president showed that he’s among those who cares, insisting he can invoke the Insurrection Act if he wants to, and shared an AI video of himself wearing a crown, flying a plane that drops poop on a crowd of protestors in a US city.

That looks like flailing, like media manipulators who lost control of the narrative and are having a negative emotional reaction. A video of the president as a king shitting on Americans might appeal to online trolls, but it got mainstream attention, and I doubt it played well outside the far right internet bubble.

6–Make Societal Elites Think Twice

Some leaders in business, media, higher education, and other parts of civil society reacted to the 2024 election like it was a binding referendum on American culture. As the Atlantic’s Adam Serwer argues, America’s elites have been surrendering, even as much of the public has not, easing Trump’s path into authoritarianism.

But elites can be pushed in the other direction too. A good example is when Trump and MAGA tried to get late night comedian Jimmy Kimmel off the air. Facing a consumer and artist backlash, parent company Disney quickly reversed course, putting Kimmel back on, defying the demand for censorship.

The massive No Kings turnout sends a louder version of that message. For societal leaders trying to sense which way the winds are blowing, the protests countered pro-Trump (or at least pro-acquiescence) pressure coming from their social circles and information streams.

7–Strengthen the Spine of Elected Democrats

Similarly, the protests’ size and geographic diversity displayed an energy Democrats will want to ride. No Kings shows that calls for opposition instead of appeasement aren’t just from activists and online political junkies, but from millions of regular voters too. That will strengthen elected Democrats’ spines for the fights to come.

In the short term, No Kings likely increased Democrats’ confidence, steeling them against bailing out Trump and the Republican Congressional majorities in the current government shutdown.

These seven impacts won’t transform the country on their own. But if you think none of it matters, you don’t understand the situation we’re in. U.S. Constitutional democracy is broken, and politics has reverted to a deeper, less ordered power struggle. Trump and MAGA end when a critical mass of the country opposes them. No one knows where that tipping point is, but it all adds up.

In a year with many losses for pro-democracy Americans, No Kings was a win.