The Protest That Couldn't Explain Itself
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What sparked the nationwide protest on October 18, 2025?
Hello, I'm Tim Rice, and welcome to another edition of Behind the Story. On October 18, 2025, nearly 8 million people gathered across the country for a day of protests. Their cause? Not ending world hunger or finding world peace, but opposing a democratically elected leader they nevertheless claim was a tyrant. No one thought Donald Trump would resign because of a protest. But in the weeks leading up to that October Saturday, the No Kings rally built a surprising amount of hype. Democratic lawmakers were encouraging people to go, and some pledged to join. So did Pedro Pascal. On the left, there was hope that No Kings could do what the Women's March had failed to do and somehow turn the political tide.
On the right, the fact that the rally came just over a month after the assassination of Charlie Kirk led to fears that the rallies would turn violent.
Why did participants struggle to articulate their reasons for protesting?
None of the 2,700 rally locations was as closely watched that day as our nation's capital. 200,000 protesters descended on Washington, D.C., where Bernie Sanders and Bill Nye spoke from the National Ball. The scene was set. And then, nothing happened. People marched, they waved signs. Trump posted an AI video of himself in a crown on social media to mock them. And on Monday, even Americans who softly supported the march started asking themselves, what was the point? And really, how could a president who very famously lost an election and vacated office for four years be a king? Daily Wire reporter Brecca Stahl went to DC's No Kings rally and actually asked marchers that question, and she's here with us today.
The headline was, we asked No Kings protesters what made Trump a king.
What were the expectations and realities of the No Kings rally in Washington, D.C.?
They couldn't say. Let's go behind the story. Brecca, thank you so much for joining me.
Thank you, Tim. Happy to be here.
So, you know, I tried to set the scene a little bit there. But why don't you just start by walking us through, you know, what went into that? What was the planning process? And what was it like on the ground at the No Kings rally?
Well, that one was the second No Kings rally. Now we've had three. The first one was in June of 2025. The next one was in October. And then we had our latest one in March of 2026. And really the goal was is we saw and we heard of how many people were going to come flood the streets. And we wanted to know why they were giving up their Saturday. You know, many people's like only off day to go and protest for a whole day. And so it was just really surprising when we got there because I was expecting to have some sort of back and forth with people, really get to the core of the issues. And when you kind of poke below the surface of why they're there, they can't answer why. It doesn't really go beyond anger for President Trump and really just an anger overall.
What questions did reporters ask protesters and what were the responses?
Yeah, so I want to get into that because this was, I'm sure many of our listeners saw, you had a video that put together the best answers from people who you talked to. I think it got something like 4 million views on Twitter. It was shared everywhere. And the reason is because the answers were just so comically perfect. So tell us a little bit, what questions did you ask and what were the responses?
You know, we asked literally, why is Trump a king? And it's so funny that the video went so viral just because I wasn't even expecting it to go that viral. Because we just asked people why they were there and they didn't know. And something about these videos, and it happens at every No Kings protest I attend. But- They can't answer the question. And we're not cherry picking these answers. Like we just go up to a protest or ask them why they're there, ask them their thoughts and nothing else happens. And then you just compile the answers and the Internet loves it because they they're like, why? Why are they there? No one can answer it.
In your piece, you write, responses ranged from blank stares to Kamala Harris-style word salads and vague references to checks and balances. Deep in a hole, a self-identified he-she claimed that Trump was taking away women's right to vote.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What sparked the nationwide protest on October 18, 2025?
0:00–0:46
2
Why did participants struggle to articulate their reasons for protesting?
0:46–1:33
3
What were the expectations and realities of the No Kings rally in Washington, D.C.?
1:33–2:37
4
What questions did reporters ask protesters and what were the responses?
2:37–3:55
5
How did the protest atmosphere impact the interactions between reporters and protesters?
3:55–5:15
6
What insights did Brecca Stahl gain from interviewing protesters on the ground?
5:15–6:30
7
What were the most surprising answers Brecca received during her interviews?
6:30–7:48
8
How does Brecca Stahl feel about her role as a reporter amidst the protests?
7:48–22:05
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