Democrats scream democracy is in peril ... while proving that it's absolutely fine | Opinion
Despite the fact they were able to protest freely – something that isn't allowed in Cuba or Russia – progressives still act as if President Donald Trump is destroying democracy.
I would like to thank the “No Kings” protesters.
The estimated 5 million people who attended more than 2,000 protests nationwide June 14 made an excellent point: Our democracy is alive and well.
Now, that is not what protest organizers intended. They chose the name for their day of action in response to President Donald Trump’s decision to hold a military parade to honor the 250th anniversary of the Army (June 14 also happened to be Trump’s 79th birthday).
Liberals have painted the president as a tyrant and authoritarian, resembling the dictators in Russia and North Korea – thus the plea for “no kings.”
Yet, the protesters disproved their own point.
The demonstrations mostly went off without hitches, and the federal government did nothing to stop them. Protesters carried signs and shouted things extremely critical of Trump and his administration. No one was arrested for participating in peaceful rallies.
That is exactly what democracy and our constitutional rights look like in practice.
Liberals are confused about the freedoms they have
Despite the fact they had every right to protest freely – something that is not allowed in countries like Russia and North Korea – progressives still acted as if Trump is destroying the principles of our country.
“On this day, where we celebrate the flag, where we celebrate America, we are fighting for democracy,” Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said at an event in Philadelphia. “The through line in America is that the people are governed not by a king, not a tyrant, not nobility, but the people.”
Perhaps Weingarten, whose Democratic-loving teachers union helped organize the No Kings protests, has forgotten that the American people decisively elected Trump just seven months ago.
She’s not the only one.
Another protester, Margo Ross of California, told NPR, “I am completely terrified of what's going on in our country” and that “from the beginning it’s been a coup and a fascist overthrow.”
Again, the very ability to hold the protests disproves those “fears.”
Democrats, media show they were not really worried about Trump's parade
The reaction to the weekend’s festivities also highlighted how Democrats and journalists were never that concerned about Trump’s Army parade, despite all their hand-wringing ahead of time.
After raising fears about the parade and what it says about Trump’s authoritarian instincts, progressives roundly mocked the military display as “underwhelming,” a “disappointing, sad affair” and “pathetic.”
This belies that they ever really thought the parade would be a threat to democracy.
“Overall this was a pretty listless and low-energy parade and crowd," The New York Times’ John Ismay observed from the event.
The Independent’s Richard Hall acknowledged the parade was less North Korea-lite and “something closer to a medium-sized town’s July 4th celebration.”
Following the June 14 parade and protests, here's my takeaway: Trump is nowhere close to a dictator – and Democrats proved U.S. democracy is just fine.
Ingrid Jacques is a columnist at Paste BN. Contact her at ijacques@usatoday.com or on X: @Ingrid_Jacques