Elon Musk Post No Kings Protests Flop in Swelter — Trump’s Still King, Losers!

No Kings Protests Flop in Swelter: Trump’s Triumph or a Movement Misjudged?

On June 14, 2025, the “No Kings” protests swept across the United States, aiming to challenge what organizers called the authoritarian grip of the Trump administration. Timed to coincide with President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday, Flag Day, and a grandiose military parade in Washington, D.C., celebrating the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary, the protests mobilized millions in over 2,000 cities. Yet, as temperatures soared to 105°F in many areas, reports of protesters wilting under the heat fueled a provocative narrative: “No Kings Protests Flop in Swelter: Trump’s Still King, Losers!” This rage-bait headline suggests the movement crumbled, handing Trump a symbolic victory. But did the protests truly fail, or is this a distortion of a historic mobilization?

The Heat of the Moment

The No Kings protests, organized by a coalition of over 200 groups like Indivisible, the ACLU, and the 50501 Movement, were billed as a “nationwide day of defiance” against Trump’s policies, including mass deportations and his defiance of court orders. The D.C. parade, featuring 6,700 soldiers, 150 military vehicles, and 50 aircraft at a cost of $25–45 million, was a flashpoint, criticized as a self-aggrandizing spectacle despite Trump’s claim it honored the Army, not himself. Protesters aimed to counter this display with grassroots power, waving American flags to reclaim patriotism.

However, the extreme heat posed a formidable challenge. In Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and New York, where crowds numbered in the tens of thousands, temperatures hit triple digits, with heat indices nearing 110°F in some areas. X posts described protesters fainting, seeking shade, or leaving early, with one user gloating, “No Kings? More like No Stamina! Trump’s parade outshines these snowflakes.” Conservative outlets amplified these images, framing the protests as a disorganized flop, contrasting them with the disciplined parade attended by thousands despite the heat.

The Narrative of Failure

The “flop” headline hinges on two claims: that the heat decimated turnout and that the protests failed to disrupt Trump’s narrative. Supporters of this view point to logistical issues. In Los Angeles, where anti-ICE protests merged with No Kings events, organizers reported dozens treated for heat exhaustion. In Philadelphia, a rally at Independence Hall saw crowds thin by midday as temperatures peaked. Social media posts mocked protesters as unprepared, with one viral video showing a New York marcher tossing a sign to sit under a tree, captioned, “No Kings, just quitters.”

Trump’s allies seized the moment. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News, “The president’s parade showed America’s strength, while these protests fizzled out. The people support unity, not division.” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who deployed 5,000 National Guard troops to manage protests, tweeted, “Texans endured the heat to honor our military. Protesters? Not so much.” The narrative painted Trump as resilient and protesters as weak, reinforcing the “Trump’s Still King” taunt.

The Reality: Scale and Resilience

Despite the heat, the No Kings protests were far from a failure. Harvard’s Crowd Counting Consortium estimated over 5 million participants nationwide, three times the size of 2017’s anti-Trump protests. Major rallies drew 200,000 in New York, 100,000 in Philadelphia, and thousands in smaller towns like Pentwater, Michigan, where 400 marched in a community of 800. Organizers reported 2,200 events, from urban centers to rural hamlets, showcasing a decentralized movement that dwarfed the D.C. parade’s 50,000 attendees.

The heat undoubtedly took a toll. NPR reported 150 heat-related medical incidents in Los Angeles alone, though no fatalities occurred. Yet, protesters adapted. In New York, organizers distributed water and set up cooling stations, while in Philadelphia, marches shifted to shaded routes. Ezra Levin of Indivisible told The Guardian, “The heat was brutal, but millions showed up. That’s not a flop—that’s a movement.” Protesters’ use of American flags, encouraged to counter right-wing narratives, dominated visuals, with one X user noting, “Every flag in L.A. screamed ‘this is OUR country.’”

Isolated incidents of violence—like a driver in Culpeper, Virginia, striking a protester or clashes in Los Angeles—were rare but amplified by critics to suggest chaos. Organizers’ nonviolence training and de-escalation tactics kept most events peaceful, undermining claims of a disorderly collapse. The heat thinned some crowds, but it didn’t stop the message: “Real power rises up everywhere else,” as the No Kings website declared.

The Rage-Bait Game

The “flop” headline is textbook rage-bait, exaggerating the heat’s impact to mock protesters and inflame both sides. For Trump supporters, it’s a gleeful jab, portraying the president as untouchable. For protesters, it’s a taunt meant to provoke anger and defensiveness. By focusing on fainting marchers and early departures, it ignores the protests’ unprecedented scale and their success in dominating national discourse. Google Trends showed “No Kings” outsearched “Trump parade” by a 3:1 margin on June 14, suggesting the movement captured more attention.

Critics also overlook the context: protesters faced not just heat but a militarized response. Trump’s June 10 warning of “very heavy force” for parade disruptions, later clarified as support for peaceful protest, loomed large. National Guard deployments in multiple states and reported kettling in Los Angeles created a tense atmosphere. Yet, millions marched, proving resilience, not weakness.

A Misjudged Movement?

The “flop” narrative misjudges the No Kings protests’ goals. Unlike the Women’s March, which sought a singular iconic moment, No Kings aimed for distributed impact, with small-town rallies as vital as urban ones. Organizers didn’t need to outshine the parade’s spectacle—they needed to show breadth. By that measure, they succeeded. Posts on X from rural protesters, like one from Iowa reading, “100 of us in 105° heat. That’s power,” highlight this grassroots strength.

Still, the heat exposed vulnerabilities. Organizers could have better prepared for extreme weather, with more cooling stations or earlier start times. The optics of some protesters leaving early handed critics easy fodder, even if it didn’t reflect the whole. Future mobilizations may need tighter coordination to counter such narratives.

Conclusion: No Flop, Just Fire

The No Kings protests didn’t flop—they burned bright despite a scorching challenge. The “Trump’s Still King” headline is a cheap shot, ignoring 5 million voices who braved heat, troops, and threats to reject authoritarianism. Trump’s parade may have dazzled, but it was a scripted show for a few. No Kings was a raw, sprawling declaration that democracy thrives in the streets, not in tanks.

The heat didn’t melt the movement; it tempered it. As one Philadelphia protester told NPR, “We’re sweating for freedom. Trump’s sweating for control.” The No Kings coalition vows to keep pushing, with plans for voter mobilization in 2026 midterms. For now, they’ve proven they can endure more than heat—they can endure a nation divided. For more, visit nokings.us or check NPR, The Guardian, and Al Jazeera’s coverage.