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Chapter 1: 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.
Chapter 2: 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.
Chapter 3: 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.
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Chapter 4: 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. When pressed for information, he-she said, quote, Trump has said that in interviews everywhere. Editor's note, he hasn't.
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Chapter 5: How did the protest atmosphere impact the interactions between reporters and protesters?
It's like these people, I mean, that's gold. That's fantastic. I mean, what was it like being around people who were so angry but yet had so little like solid reasoning for their anger.
It was so surprising because I think man on the streets and they get some pushback because sometimes I'll see people doing a man on the street interview and I'm like, okay, they caught someone off guard, like legitimately on the streets. And, but what I love about no Kings is we are not catching these people off guard because they show up with a reason to be there.
And, you know, I'm always surprised when they can't answer it because it is a lot of blank stares. But I talked to one girl and she was in a group of four and she was the third girl I was going to ask the question to. So she had time to think about her answer. And the question is very basic. It's what brought you out here today?
And she, similar to the transgender person who told me Trump's taking away women's rights to vote, she tells me Trump is taking away black people's rights. And so the natural follow-up, Tim, is obviously, well, what rights? And that's where things always get uncomfortable. The protesters, they immediately start to feel like they're kind of like on the attack. But it's such a fair question.
Did she have an answer to that?
It was one of the worst answers I've ever heard. And it made the whole situation so awkward. And I'm biting my cheek the whole time because I'm like, try not to laugh and cause any more tension.
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Chapter 6: What insights did Brecca Stahl gain from interviewing protesters on the ground?
But she goes, 30-second pause. And then she says... I have teachers as friends. And that's a direct quote. And she goes, you know, it's hard for them to teach their kids in their classroom. And that answer does not relate to my question at all. And it's just a panic. And it's just a panic of, I have no real reason to be out here.
And I think what it is, is just that a lot of these people have real, you know, issues and real like problems. I'm, you know, going to kind of generalize here, but it is unaffordable. A lot of these people, like these young women I'm talking to, I'm assuming they have some college debt. They went to get a degree that turns out there isn't really any need for in the actual market.
And so that rage comes out of these no king protests and they're putting all that anger on President Trump. And so I think that's why they come out there. But I don't think they know that. And that's why then when you actually ask and dig into it a little bit, their argument falls apart.
And then they feel so attacked because then they're thinking, well, my anger, this girl's questioning whether I have the right to be angry and whether that can be justified. And then I think that's why they get so mad.
did any protester get angry with you? Because as you said, there's so much anger simmering, so much resentment.
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Chapter 7: What were the most surprising answers Brecca received during her interviews?
And then you show up, not only identifying yourself as a reporter from an outlet that if they've heard of it, they don't like, but then you're also just, I would imagine, being very happy and bubbly, asking them these questions, pushing them when they don't know the answer. So it's not just that it's adversarial, But it's such an interesting mix of their fury and you just being happy-go-lucky.
What's that like? Did people get in your face? Tell us a little. Give us some behind-the-scenes color that didn't necessarily make it into the highlight reel.
Yeah. Well, so funny enough, that same woman after, you know, we turned into our next friend in line and the friends of four and we end the interview after that, I start going around doing more interviews. And then she comes up to me after and basically says, uh, Brecca, I know what you're doing.
because I gave her my Instagram handle, my social, so she can then see I'm connected to The Daily Wire. And I'm just like, tell me what I'm doing. And she's like, you're from a right-wing outlet and you are trying to cause trouble here. And I said, I'm from The Daily Wire. I am here to ask questions. And what I asked you was perfectly fair. There is no gotcha there.
I literally asked her a question based on what she said. I've had people accuse me of being Fox News. And they're like, don't talk to her.
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Chapter 8: How does Brecca Stahl feel about her role as a reporter amidst the protests?
She's with Fox. And what always annoys me about this is just, I'm not, I'm not causing problems. I think there's some right-wing influencers who stir up trouble. They try and create a fight, but I ask open-ended questions. And if you look back on all of our Daily Wire interviews, they're very fair. They're very open.
And these people, I think, just get a little bit angry that then they can't argue why they're out there. And then they, sometimes they don't want to speak, which always makes me so intrigued because I'm like, you brought a bullhorn. You want to speak.
So as you sort of alluded to, you've done a lot of these now, and I want to talk about more of them in a minute. But if I'm not mistaken, this was the first time you had done a Man on the Street interview, right? Yes. So what were you feeling like that day? At this point, I think, you know, clearly you're a seasoned veteran now. But what was it like?
I mean, that's kind of a, you know, the videos seem funny and glib, but that's a kind of scary thing to do, right? Going out to a public place, talking to people you don't know who definitely don't like you, and kind of walking through your headspace as you were getting ready that morning to go to the National Mall.
I was excited because I just all like I have just been kind of mystified by what makes these people come out and do these types of things. So I was ready just to be able to ask them myself. I didn't think anybody else was really doing it. And so I was really excited to just find out because I wanted to watch it and hear from them. And, you know, I think it's kind of like sales almost.
I've always kind of like sales, but you just go up to people and you just can't fear rejection. You know, some people are going to say no to your man on the street. And then some people, you know, you could be like, hey, can I ask you a couple questions about why you're out there? And they don't even respond to you. You know, they just like look away. They don't even talk to you.
But just you get the rejection just shouldn't bother you. And luckily it doesn't. But I like getting to the answers.
No King sort of blew up and we realized that there was something going, you know, there was a lot of ground to be covered with men on the street interviews, right? I mean, these things have been around for a long time, but whether it's, I don't know, people want to talk to you or you just, you know how to spot the really good people in the crowd, but yours clearly worked on a different level.
You really sort of became synonymous with the man on the street interviews after Minneapolis, which was a whole experience. So I would love for you to walk us through just sort of, you know, beginning to end, what was happening? How'd you get there? And then, you know, what were those interviews like?
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