When a House Speaker calls peaceful protesting un-American and hateful, you know the democracy alarms are blaring. But this time, Bernie Sanders wasn’t about to let it slide.
As the No Kings protests (a.k.a the No Dictators or No Tyrants protests) prepare to sweep across U.S. cities on Oct. 18, rebuking Donald Trump‘s creeping authoritarianism and the broader decay of democratic norms, Speaker Mike Johnson chose to smear them as a “hate America” rally. The Louisiana Republican, a loyal Trump ally and culture-war mainstay, told reporters on day ten of the ongoing government shutdown that the protests are “outrageous”:
“This hate America rally that they have coming up for October 18? The antifa crowd, the pro-Hamas crowd, and the Marxists, they’re all gonna gather on the Mall. It is an outrageous gathering for outrageous purposes … all this has gotta come to an end.”
It was the kind of statement that all but equates Trump with America itself, and Sanders wasn’t having it. The Vermont senator, never one to mince words, responded with calm precision and a clear rebuke. In a video posted to X, Sanders reframed Johnson’s attack into a rallying cry for democracy:
“No, Speaker Johnson. The No Kings rally on October 18th is not a Hate America rally. In fact, it’s quite the contrary. It’s a Love America rally. It’s a rally of millions of people all over this country who believe in our constitution, who believe in American freedom, and are not going to let you and Donald Trump turn this country into an authoritarian society.”
He went further, linking the protests to the ongoing government shutdown and painting it as a crisis driven by Trump-aligned obstruction in Washington. He accused Johnson and his allies of waging class war against ordinary citizens while pretending to defend “American values.” Pointing out that the return of the protests was warranted because the Trump administration wants to monstrously take away their health care, he said:
“It’s a group of people who are disgusted that you and your friends want to double health care premiums in this country and take healthcare away from 15 million Americans.”
Ending the video on a note that cut through the noise with the blunt force of principle, Sanders struck against Johnson’s authoritarian assertions and said, “The right to protest is what America is about. You are not going to stop us.” With that, he calmly destroyed Johnson’s attempt to brand dissent as hatred.
If Sanders’ tone is any indication, the upcoming No Kings protests won’t be silenced at all. They’ll be louder, prouder, and more defiantly American than ever.
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