This past weekend, hundreds of “No Kings” rallies were held nationwide to protest the Trump administration’s alleged crackdown on civil liberties and democracy. Ironically, one of the rallies took place outside the NIH headquarters, where protesters against Trump’s cuts to medical research chanted, “No Kings, just vaccines!”

The majority of these protesters are staunch supporters of the Democratic Party. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they advocated for mandates that forced millions of Americans to receive a flawed vaccine in order to work, study, and travel. Notably, excess mortality among young adults has reached an all-time high since 2021. Just five years ago, these same individuals supported imposing lockdowns that were at best ineffective in curbing the virus’s spread and at worst economically devastating. Many small businesses never recovered, and trillions of dollars were added to our national debt to compensate those who lost their jobs as a result.

Additionally, during this time, the Democrats attempted to censor those who questioned the effectiveness of their mandates, suppressing discussions about alternative COVID treatments such as Ivermectin. Because these measures were rarely subjected to public referenda, can we fairly conclude that this is the style of governance typical of a king?