Two Trump administration cabinet members blamed future “No Kings” protests for prolonging the government shutdown.
Naked cyclists protest Trump’s National Guard plan in Portland, Oregon
Naked cyclists in Portland, Oregon, rode four miles in the rain to protest President Donald Trump’s plan to deploy the National Guard.
Two members of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet have claimed that Democrats are shutting down the government in the lead-up to the massive “No Kings” protests scheduled for Saturday, October 18th.
Their comments, made on the same Fox Business show on Oct. 13, echo those made last week by Republicans in Congress who blamed the two-week government shutdown on Democrats wanting to keep it shut until the protests are over to show their base that they are pushing back against the Trump administration.
Liberals have criticized elected Democrats for not doing enough in Congress to resist President Trump’s changes to the federal government.
Rally organizers told USA TODAY they expect the crowd to have fun and peacefully celebrate their First Amendment right to protest. They use comments to draw attention to upcoming events.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent criticized the rally, saying, “No Kings means no paychecks. No paychecks, no government.”
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said separately that the expected millions of participants were “Antifa participants, paid protesters. It raises the question of who is funding them.”
Mr. Duffy accused the protesters of dictating the actions of Democratic leaders.
“The bottom line is who is in control of the Senate, and Democrats want to wait for the big No Kings protests,” Duffy said. Senate Democratic Minority Leader: “Chuck Schumer is not running the show. No Kings protesters and organizers are running the show.”
Leah Greenberg, co-founder of Indivisible, one of the protest organizers, responded on social media: “This is what it feels like when you lose control of your message and you panic.”
Norking protests are planned at more than 2,500 locations across the United States, with one of several major protests planned outside the U.S. Capitol. Previous protests held by the same organizers last year, including a June 14 rally also named No Kings, have been peaceful and drawn large crowds.
On October 10, several congressional Republicans called the protests a “Hate America” rally and accused Democrats of continuing to shut down the government at the request of activists.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana said on Fox News that he’s hearing Republicans won’t reopen the government until after the convention because Democrats “can’t face their fanatical base.” Activists are angry with Schumer for voting Republican in March to avoid a government shutdown.
Prime Minister Johnson said he is tired of waiting for Democrats to agree to end the government shutdown.
“We’re very angry about that. I mean, I’m a very patient person, but I’ve been through things like this with these guys. They’re playing games with real people’s lives. The theory we have right now is they’re planning a Hate America rally that’s scheduled for October 18th on the National Mall. They’re just going to come out with pro-Hamas and Antifa people,” he said.
Kansas Republican Sen. Roger Marshall said on Newsmax that Democrats need to put on a show at the protests before allowing the government to reopen.
“October 18th is the day the protests will arrive here. This will be a paid protest for Soros’ professional protesters, the agitators will show up.”,” Marshall said, referring to billionaire George Soros, who is neither a protest organizer nor a public official but has supported the Democratic cause. “We have to withdraw the National Guard. I hope there will be peace, but I don’t think so.”
Plans to involve the National Guard at the Washington protests or other protests have not been publicly discussed.
A coalition of activist groups organizing protests, rallies and marches stressed in a statement on October 10 that organizers have undergone security and de-escalation training to avoid violence.
“Speaker Johnson is running out of excuses to continue shutting down the government. Instead of reopening the government, keeping health care affordable, and lowering costs for working families, he is attacking millions of Americans who peacefully come together to say that America belongs to the people, not the king,” the statement said. “See you all on October 18th.”
Hunter Dunn, a national spokesperson for the 50501 protest group, told USA TODAY that he finds it odd that Republican rhetoric about the rally has swung from a tactic to keep the government shut down to one filled with paid demonstrators who hate the country.
“You have to choose which lie to tell. The enemy cannot be weak and strong at the same time,” he said.
National political senior correspondent Sarah D. Wire Please contact us at swire@usatoday.com.
