A president steeped in constitutional lore might have been offended by claims he’s acting as a king.
But Donald Trump and his entourage responded with mockery to weekend “No Kings” protests by millions of Americans — embracing the narrative in a way that explains his growing hubris and belief that he has unchecked power.
The president and Vice President JD Vance this weekend both posted AI memes to social media depicting Trump in a crown. The one Trump shared was a mocked-up vision of the president flying a fighter jet emblazoned with “KING TRUMP” appearing to dump raw sewage on protesters. In Vance’s troll on Bluesky, a site popular with liberals, prominent Democrats knelt as supplicants in a royal court before Trump, the divine and absolute ruler.
It was a clever political trick. MAGA supporters can blast anyone who takes offense to the posts as lacking a sense of humor and being prim. The posts also trivialize protesters’ gravely serious claims that America is witnessing a wannabe autocrat. But they also subtly advance the thesis that Trump is all-powerful and immune from dissent, an attractive proposition to voters who like a strongman.
Trump’s post is not only juvenile but also betrays striking contempt for tens of millions of Americans he ostensibly leads and for the concept of democratic free speech. He’s far from the first major political figure to express disdain for voters they don’t agree with. Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, as well as 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, all had their moments. And a sense that liberal elites disrespected heartland Americans was fundamental to Trump’s rise to power.
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