Republicans spent several days trying to marginalize the massive anti-Trump rallies held across the country over the weekend.
They argued that the people involved were extreme and even They expected they would be violent (Which turned out to be untrue). They claimed that the protesters hate America. They argued that the “No to Kings” message itself is meaningless, given that President Donald Trump is a democratically elected president who sometimes works with Congress.
Trump said on Sunday that the people “do not represent this country.” He and his team have been posting satirical AI-powered memes and videos With Trump wearing the crown — including a photo the president shared of him throwing brown waste at protesters.
House Speaker Mike Johnson added Monday night on Fox News that the protesters’ messages were “the complete opposite of what America was founded on.”
However, new polls reinforce the extent to which the “No to Kings” message resonates with a large portion of the American public.
In fact, the majority of Americans seem to be sympathetic to it, at least to some extent. Their ranks seem to be growing.
the Survey from the General Institute for Religion Research He gave people two choices. The first is that Trump is a “potentially dangerous dictator whose power must be limited before he destroys democracy.” The other is that he is “a strong leader who should be given the power he needs to restore America’s greatness.”
Americans chose the “dictator” option by a strong margin, 56% versus 41%.
Notably, this margin has nearly doubled since April, when Americans also sided with the “dictator” option. By a smaller margin of 52%-44%.
The same poll also showed that a 54% majority supports the view that Trump is waging “an assault on constitutional balance and the rule of law.” The alternative was that his reform of the federal government is “a long overdue corrective to disastrous policies” (43%).
It’s possible to oversell poll numbers like this. Giving people binary options can inflate the numbers by making people choose one extreme or the other. People who don’t like Trump but don’t think he’s a dictator may feel forced to choose the “dictator” option to avoid endorsing a man they don’t like.
But interestingly, the survey also asked people about the strength of their opinions. Forty-five percent of Americans said they “strongly” agree that Trump is a dangerous dictator, and 43% strongly agreed that he is launching an attack on checks and balances and the rule of law.
In both cases, nearly half of independents strongly agreed with these sentiments.
These, to put it mildly, are not insignificant numbers. Say what you want about the elements of the “No to Kings” marches; This poll suggests that the power of demonstrations does not seem absurd to a majority of Americans.
This is just the latest indication that large numbers of Americans have such concerns.
A clear majority sees him as exceeding his powers
Whether the description “dictator” or “king” is particularly appropriate, it is clear that Americans sympathize with the idea that Trump is abusing his power.
56% of respondents said that Trump had gone “too far” in “using the power of the presidency and executive authority,” according to a poll conducted in July. CNN poll. That was up from 52% in February.
57% said Trump went “too far” in using presidential power to achieve his goals, according to April AP-NORC poll.
69% said that Trump was exercising greater presidential powers than other recent presidents, and 49% said that was “bad” for the country, according to a survey conducted in September. Pew Research Center poll.
54% of registered voters said that he “exceeds the powers available to him,” according to September New York Times-Siena College Poll. (This included nearly 1 in 5 Republicans.)
Amid the rallies on Saturday, a number of conservatives argued that invoking the word “royalty” was a non-sequitur, given that Trump will be popularly elected in 2024.
“I don’t understand how Trump can be king when he won every swing state, the Electoral College, and the popular vote in a democratic election.” He said Megan McCain.
Brit Hume, a Fox News analyst, noted that at least some of Trump’s policies had received congressional approval. “Some kingHe said.
But there is no doubt that Trump has ignored the limits of his authority – and Congress – in extraordinary ways. The protesters do not appear to be arguing that Trump is technically a king, so much as they are arguing that he seeks to exercise unfettered power when he can.
This seems to be an argument with which the majority of Americans sympathize.
Many have worried about this for a long time
These concerns were already there and have become more apparent as Trump seeks more power.
Before Trump’s second term begins:
53% said he was at least “somewhat likely” to act like a dictator, according to December Reuters-Ipsos poll.
53% of voters said they were “concerned” by Trump’s 2023 comment — which he claims was a joke — that he wants to be a dictator for one day, every year. Quinnipiac University poll.
It’s not just a partisan thing
It can be tempting to look at these numbers and think, well, they’re just partisan numbers.
A decade ago, many Republicans He accused Barack Obama of behaving like a kingalso. And what about when Joe Biden tried to get around the Supreme Court ruling that invalidated his move on student loans?
But it is clear that Americans see a difference with Trump.
For example, in the recent poll mentioned above, only about 2 in 10 voters said Trump’s then-rival, Kamala Harris, was a fascist — less than half as many as Trump.
On the other hand, the Washington Post-Ipsos poll showed that only 34% of Americans believe that Biden has exceeded his powers, compared to 62% for Trump.
Perhaps interestingly, an AP-NORC poll in April showed that a majority of Americans suddenly wanted to constrain that presidency in ways they had never done before. The percentage who said the president has “too much” power rose from 32% last year (under Biden) to 54% (under Trump).
All of this suggests that Americans — or at least a majority of them — see something unusual happening now.
Republicans can try to downplay the “No Kings” rallies all they want, but they’re talking about something that’s very real for a lot of people.
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