Republicans spent days trying to sideline the massive anti-Trump “No Kings” rallies across the country over the weekend.
They claimed that the people involved were extremists and even predicted that they would be violent (which turned out not to be true). They said the protesters hate America. And they argued that the “No Kings” message itself is meaningless, given that President Donald Trump is a democratically elected president who sometimes works with Congress.
Trump said Sunday that the people “do not represent this country.” He and his team took to mocking memes and AI videos of Trump wearing the crown, including one the president shared in which he throws brown waste at protesters.
House Speaker Mike Johnson added on Fox News Monday night that the protesters’ messages were “totally antithetical to what America was founded on.”
But new polls confirm how the No Kings message resonated with much of the American public.
In fact, most Americans agree with it, at least to some extent. And their ranks seem to be growing.
A survey by the Public Religion Research Institute gave people two options. One was that Trump is a “potentially dangerous dictator whose power should be limited before democracy is destroyed.” Another was that he is “a strong leader who should be given the power needed to restore America to greatness.”
Americans chose the “dictator” option by a large margin – 56-41 percent.
Notably, that margin nearly doubled since April, when Americans also chose “dictator,” but by a smaller margin of 52 percent to 44 percent.
The same poll also found that a 54% majority said Trump was “attacking constitutional balance and the rule of law.” The alternative was that his overhaul of the federal government is a “long overdue fix for a disastrous policy” (43 percent).
Such survey numbers can be transferred. Giving people binary choices can inflate the numbers because people choose one extreme or the other. People who don’t like Trump but don’t think he’s a dictator may feel compelled to choose the “dictator” option to avoid endorsing someone they don’t like.
But it’s clear that the survey also asked people about the strength of their views. Fully 45% of Americans said they “strongly” agree that Trump is a dangerous dictator, while 43% strongly agreed that he attacks checks and balances and the rule of law.
In both cases, nearly half of independents strongly agreed with these sentiments.
These are considerable numbers, to say the least. Say what you will about the elements of the No Kings rally; this poll shows that most Americans hardly find the direction of the demonstrations funny.
And this is just the latest indicator that many Americans have such concerns.
A clear majority sees him as exceeding his powers
Whether “dictator” or “king” are particularly appropriate labels, Americans clearly support the idea that Trump is abusing his power.
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56% of respondents said Trump has gone “too far” in his “use of presidential and executive power,” according to a July poll. CNN poll. That’s up from 52% in February.
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According to an April AP-NORC poll, 57% of respondents said Trump has “gone too far” in using the power of the presidency to achieve his goals.
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69% of respondents said Trump wields more presidential power than other recent presidents, and 49% said it’s “bad” for the country, according to a September poll. Pew Research Center survey.
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Based on September In a New York Times and Siena College poll, 54% of registered voters said he was “exceeding his powers.” (This included nearly 1 in 5 Republicans.)
At Saturday’s rallies, a number of conservatives argued that calling “kings” was a non sequitur because Trump was popularly elected in 2024.
“I don’t understand how Trump is king when he won every swing state, electoral college and popular vote in the Democratic primary,” Meghan McCain said.
Fox News analyst Brit Hume noted that at least some of Trump’s policies have received approval from Congress. “Some king,” he said.
But there is no question that Trump has overstepped the limits of his authority and defied Congress in extraordinary ways. The protesters don’t seem to be disputing that Trump is technically a monarch, just that he seeks to exercise unchecked power whenever he can.
And that’s an argument most Americans seem to sympathize with.
Many have been worried about this for a long time
If anything, these concerns already existed and have only become more pronounced as Trump has grabbed more power.
Before Trump’s second term begins:
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According to a December Reuters-Ipsos poll, 53% said it was at least “somewhat likely” he would act as a dictator.
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According to a Quinnipiac University poll, 53% of voters said they were “concerned” about Trump’s 2023 election. comment – he claims it was a joke – that he wanted to be a dictator one day.
This is not just a partisan issue
It might be tempting to look at these numbers and think, well, that’s just partisan.
A decade ago, many Republicans accused Barack Obama of acting like a king, too. And what about when Joe Biden tried to circumvent the Supreme Court ruling that overturned his decision on student loans?
But Americans clearly see the difference with Trump.
First, in that last poll mentioned earlier, only about 2 in 10 voters said Trump’s then-opponent Kamala Harris was a fascist, less than half Trump’s number.
On the other hand, a Washington Post-Ipsos poll found that only 34% of Americans thought Biden exceeded his authority, compared to 62% of Trump.
And perhaps it’s telling that an AP-NORC poll in April found that a majority of Americans suddenly wanted to limit this presidency in a way they hadn’t 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 most of them—see that something extraordinary is happening right now.
Republicans can try to play down No Kings rallies all they want, but they’re talking about something that is very real to a lot of people.
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