Trump Fires Back at ‘No Kings’ Protesters: “I Don’t Feel Like a King”

D.C. (Dist. of Criminals), June 12, 2025 — In a fiery response to the “No Kings” protests set to erupt nationwide during this weekend’s 250th U.S. Army birthday parade — an event that also marks his 79th birthday — President Trump shrugged off accusations of authoritarianism and offered a blunt reminder of the daily battles he faces to get anything done in Washington.

“I don’t feel like a king; I have to go through hell to get stuff approved,” Trump said, laughing off the protest movement’s core claim. “A king doesn’t have to call up Mike Johnson or John Thune to get something passed. A king just says it, and it’s done. But me? I’ve been wrangling with this California madness for years.”

The president was referencing his recent signature on a congressional resolution nullifying California’s sweeping ban on new gas-powered vehicle sales by 2035 — a rule originally greenlit by the Biden administration. California has already pledged legal retaliation.

Trump’s remarks come ahead of Saturday’s military parade in Washington, D.C., where he’s set to deliver remarks commemorating the Army’s founding in 1775. While the event will celebrate America’s military legacy, anti-Trump activists with the "No Kings" movement are planning approximately 1,500 protests in other cities — conspicuously avoiding the nation's capital, where heightened security is expected.

In a warning earlier this week, Trump made clear any disruption in D.C. would be swiftly addressed: “You’ll be met with very big force,” he said.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also responded sharply to a reporter’s question on whether Trump supports peaceful protests.

“Of course the president supports peaceful protests,” Leavitt shot back. “What a stupid question.”

The “No Kings” movement has tried to paint Trump as an aspiring monarch, but his comments highlight the very opposite — a presidency often mired in legal warfare, opposition stonewalling, and partisan sabotage. Saturday’s parade will be both a patriotic celebration and a symbolic stand against what Trump calls “radical leftist overreach,” especially when it comes to energy policy and federalism.

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