The Aftermath of “No Kings”: How National Messaging Drained Local Movements
The Aftermath of “No Kings”: How National Messaging Drained Local Movements
Please do not take this criticism of No Kings or the 50501 coalition as an attack, but as an opportunity to reflect and improve future organizing. Many people poured their time, money, emotional labor, and personal energy into planning these events. Those individuals deserve deep gratitude. Their commitment is real, and their work is heroic.
But gratitude cannot prevent honest critique. What follows is not a condemnation of the volunteers or local organizers who gave everything they had. It is a critique of the national leadership, the strategic vacuum, and the absence of a coherent plan to confront the rising authoritarianism many people see emerging through Donald Trump and entrenched oligarchic power structures.
A Movement That Spread Apathy Instead of Cohesion
The protests were framed as a unifying moment, but in practice they generated more apathy than solidarity. Groups like ours Nefesh had already been organizing, building momentum, and cultivating a following. Yet we felt pressured to hand over our audience to Indivisible and 50501. Declining to do so would have been interpreted as refusing to cooperate, even though cooperation should be reciprocal.
Instead of amplifying the organizations that contributed energy, turnout, and visibility, the protests ended in a void. There was no direction for participants afterward, no call to action, no community projects, no next steps, and no effort to redirect the momentum back to the groups that helped make the events possible. The energy simply evaporated.
Afterward, many people stopped attending local protests altogether. They waited for the next large, commercialized, nationally branded event believing that local work was secondary or irrelevant.
How National Messaging Undermined Local Credibility
This pattern has consequences. It kills momentum. It harms local organizations. It reinforces the belief that only national institutions matter, even when those institutions are widely seen as complacent in the face of rising authoritarianism.
This dynamic is not unique. As one analysis of the No Kings protests noted, the events were “organized by a coalition of more than 70 groups”【Fox News†source】. When that many national organizations dominate the stage, local groups inevitably become background actors rather than partners.
The Hands Off! protest coverage in the Peoria Journal Star described a similar phenomenon: “more than 1,300 events were held nationwide”【Peoria Journal Star†source】. That scale is impressive but it also demonstrates how national protest culture can overshadow local work, leaving grassroots groups struggling to maintain visibility.
Many people argue that the spread of authoritarian politics is enabled by the Democratic Party’s unwillingness to take decisive action. They point to the fact that Trump has not been convicted after years of legal battles, that high-profile documents such as the Epstein files were not forced into public view, and that national leadership chose to elevate Kamala Harris without a primary process. Some believe this was done under the assumption that Trump would be an easy opponent, allowing the party to campaign on being “not fascist” rather than addressing policies that have generated widespread anger, such as U.S. foreign policy toward Palestinians, inflation, economic instability, rising debt, and the ongoing crises in housing and healthcare.
Whether one agrees with these critiques or not, the effect on younger and more left-leaning audiences is undeniable: hopelessness. When national leadership dominates the stage while offering few answers, local organizations lose credibility. Their work is overshadowed. Their solutions are ignored. Their communities feel abandoned.
A Year That Began With Momentum Ended in Demoralization
If someone on the political right wanted to design a controlled opposition movement to drain hope from the left, the outcome would look disturbingly similar to what we witnessed. The year began with growing organizations, rising energy, and expanding networks. After four major protests led by 50501 and Indivisible’s No Kings, the year ended with fewer active groups, lower morale, and widespread apathy.
The 50501 movement itself acknowledges the importance of decentralized power. As one overview notes, the movement “mobilized tens of thousands through decentralized grassroots organizing”【Build the Resistance†source】. Ironically, that same decentralization is what local groups needed — but national protest branding often works in the opposite direction, recentralizing attention and authority.
The tragedy is not that people protested, it’s that the energy was never directed anywhere meaningful. It dissipated into nothingness.
What Could Have Been Built Instead
The energy could have strengthened community institutions. It could have reinforced nonprofits, mutual aid networks, and grassroots organizations that are struggling to survive. It could have supported at‑risk demographics, built local resilience, and created the infrastructure needed to withstand authoritarian threats.
We could have used the momentum to build parallel institutions of power cooperatives, community‑owned businesses, neighborhood councils, and grassroots networks capable of real self‑governance. We could have built something durable, something rooted in the people rather than in national branding.
But that would require national leadership to step aside and allow local movements to grow. Instead, many people feel that the Democratic Party consistently absorbs attention, resources, and legitimacy only to offer the same answers that have failed for decades. The result is a political landscape where a declining, unpopular institution is positioned as the only option, while genuine grassroots organizing is sidelined.
A Call for a Different Path Forward
This critique is not about assigning blame to volunteers or local partners. It is about recognizing that national organizations cannot continue to drain energy from local movements without offering real direction, real strategy, or real support.
If we want to resist authoritarianism, we must build power from the ground up. We must invest in community institutions, not just national spectacles. We must create networks of care, solidarity, and resilience that cannot be co‑opted or ignored.
The aftermath of No Kings should not be a story of demoralization. It should be a turning point a moment when we recognize that real power grows locally, through relationships, trust, and shared struggle. If we learn from this moment, the next wave of organizing can be stronger, more grounded, and more capable of confronting the challenges ahead.
Fox News Article (Coalition of 70 Groups)
Fox News. (2025, October 17). Millions expected to flood streets at “No Kings” protests targeting Trump across all 50 states. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/millions-expected-flood-streets-no-kings-protests-targeting-trump-across-all-50-states
Peoria Journal Star / USA Today Network (Hands Off! Protests)
Peoria Journal Star. (2025). What to know about “Hands Off!” protests in Illinois cities. USA Today Network.
(Note: The exact URL was not provided in the search results.)
Build the Resistance (50501 Movement Overview)
Build the Resistance. (2025). 50501: Decentralized grassroots organizing mobilizes tens of thousands.
(Note: This citation is based on the search result summary; no URL was provided.)
CBS News (National No Kings Coverage)
CBS News. (2025, October 19). Crowds gather at anti‑Trump “No Kings” rallies across the U.S., worldwide. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/no-kings-trump-rallies-protests-october/
FOX 9 Minneapolis–St. Paul (Live Coverage)
FOX 9 Minneapolis–St. Paul. (2025, October 18). Millions march nationwide in “No Kings” protests opposing Trump. https://www.fox9.com/news/no-kings-protests-live-watch-coverage
FOX 2 Detroit (Live Updates)
FOX 2 Detroit. (2025, June 14). Live updates: “No Kings” protests planned nationwide. https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/no-kings-protest-locations-watch
These are already accessible and descriptive:
FOX 9 Minneapolis: https://www.fox9.com/news/no-kings-protests-live-watch-coverage
