Copyright dailymail
An inconvenient truth has emerged about the anti-Trump No Kings protests that swept the nation over the weekend - they were mainly attended by rich, old white people. That demographic is traditionally associated with conservative politics, but it is increasingly synonymous - which some may argue is because of Joe Biden - with the Democratic Party. In Atlanta, where the population is predominantly black, liberal attendees who took to the streets on Saturday were mostly white, even though they make up just 38 percent of the city. At other protests across the country, including in Washington, DC, New York and Los Angeles, the diversity and inclusion crowd didn't appear to attract anyone outside their demographic. The vast majority of activists - some of whom were seen holding signs likening Trump to Adolf Hitler and ICE to the Gestapo - appeared to be white, privileged and elderly suburbanites. They included, predictably, Hollywood stars, including Pedro Pascal, 50, John Cusack, 59, Jamie Lee Curtis, 66, and Glenn Close, 78. The President's deportation policy, a core campaign promise by the Republican that is projected as cruel by the demonstrators, is popular, according to a survey. Forty-eight percent of Americans agree with Trump's border policy, his most popular behind working for peace in Gaza, according to exclusive Daily Mail polling from JL Partners. Boomers gained enormously from Trump's first term, benefitting from $10 trillion in wealth expansion, record stock gains and soaring property values. But tariffs and inflation have led to sharp losses in many retirement portfolios, leading to concerns among society's wealthiest generation. Only 38 percent of boomers felt the economy has improved under Trump, while 50 percent say it has weakened, according to polling by NPR/PBS/Marist. CNN commentator Batya Ungar-Sargon pointed out the glaring disparity between those in the streets protesting and the less affluent groups they claim to speak for. 'These protests were overwhelmingly white, they were overwhelmingly elderly people. White boomers have the right to have a mass therapy session about the fact that Donald Trump won. But to call it a No Kings protest, to act like he is a king, is so utterly preposterous,' the journalist said. 'This is a man who won the popular vote, he won every swing state, he is a person who is enacting the exact agenda he promised he was going to enact while he was campaigning, and so what they are actually protesting is the absolute perfection of American democracy.' One commentator, Reggie Brun, told his followers on X: 'No kings rally was all old white people'. The No Kings protests began in June, coinciding with Trump's 79th birthday and a military parade celebrating the 250th anniversary of the US Army. Since then, the protests have continued, with organizers claiming that seven million people marched in Saturday's event in all 50 states. Demonstrators coalesced around the idea that Trump is an authoritarian dictator, citing his crackdown on migrants, attacks on the media and prosecution of political opponents. 'I never thought I would live to see the death of my country as a democracy,' 69-year-old retiree Colleen Hoffman said as she marched down Broadway in New York. 'We are in a crisis — the cruelty of this regime, the authoritarianism. I just feel like I cannot sit home and do nothing.' Trump shrugged off the marches as he flew back to Washington, DC on Sunday. 'I'm not a king,' the President said. 'I work my a** off to make our country great.' The older, white crowd was noticed by commentators across the media landscape. On the left-leaning The Rest is Politics podcast, Katty Kay told viewers: 'It looked like a whole load of grannies carrying NPR bags ... It really did not look like a bunch of Antifa communists to me.' Her co-host Anthony Scaramucci replied: 'When I was a kid, they used to have on the soap operas, when I was home with a sore throat - or at least faking a sore throat -used to have a vitamin called Geritol. 'This was for geriatrics. I felt like that was sponsored by the No Kings Rally, sponsored by Geritol. You know, I mean, guys, you gotta get some younger people out there.' Lindell TV anchor, Allison Steinberg, said: 'The funny thing is the protests didn't seem too diverse, in fact, they appeared to be primarily comprised of old, white liberals. You know, the old hippie crowd who never grew up.' The same theme was noticed at Fox News where contributor Katie Pavlich pointed out 'this is the parade of the woke, white liberals'. Pavlich said it was the same demographic who attended the Women's March after Trump was first inaugurated in 2017, the Black Lives Matter demonstrations in 2020, and outside federal agencies during the DOGE cuts earlier this year. 'They just show up when they feel they have something to say, even if it's counterintuitive to what they've been saying before,' said Pavlich. Turning Point USA's Savanah Hernandez agreed but argued the group was split into two factions, the older liberal boomer crowd, and more radical left-wing agitators who seek to incite violence. 'There were two different factions of protesters: one faction who had no idea why they were there, no idea why they were protesting, they were simply programmed by CNN or whatever liberal mainstream media they've been listening to,' Hernandez said. 'You had the other faction of protesters who were there to call for political violence against their opposition, so I read signs reading: "All Nazis go to hell," and of course it was MAGA supporters and it was ICE that were depicted as said Nazis.' It was not possible to independently verify the organizers' attendance figures. In New York, authorities said more than 100,000 gathered at one of the largest protests, while in Washington, crowds were estimated at between 8,000 and 10,000 people. Trump's response to Saturday's events was typically aggressive, with the President posting a series of AI-generated videos to his Truth Social platform depicting him as a king. In one, he is shown wearing a crown and piloting a fighter jet that drops what appears to be sludge on anti-Trump protesters.
