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Photo-Illustration: Intelligencer; Photos: realDonaldTrump/Truth Social

Saturday’s No Kings protests drew nearly 7 million people, according to organizers, with more than 2,700 events held in 50 states. So what was Donald Trump’s response to one of the biggest demonstrations against him and his administration? It’s likely that all anyone will remember is the poop-jet video. But there was much more to it. Rather than picking a single counterargument and sticking to it, Team Trump went with an “all of the above” approach. Over the weekend, responses from White House officials and Trump himself ranged from shrugging off the protests to sharing a barrage of AI-generated pro–American king memes to insisting that the president is no monarch to threatening new power grabs. Here’s a guide to Trump’s chaotic protest-response strategy.

Claiming Trump isn’t bothered by the protests

In the lead-up to Saturday’s No Kings protests, multiple Republican officials warned that they were actually “hate America” rallies.

“I bet you you’ll see Hamas supporters. I bet you’ll see antifa types. I bet you’ll see the Marxists on full display. The people who don’t want to stand and defend the foundational truths of this republic,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson.

But on Saturday, the White House claimed that Trump didn’t even care about these bands of alleged radical leftists running amok across the nation, as the New York Times reported:

When asked if the president had a comment on the demonstrations, Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman, gave a brief response in an email.

“Who cares?” she said.

Posting literally shitty AI-generated videos

Team Trump did care enough to spend the weekend putting together bizarre social-media posts mocking the protests. On Saturday night, Trump posted this AI-generated video of him flying a “King Trump” jet that “dumps brown liquid on demonstrators,” as the Times delicately puts it:

New media post from Donald J. Trump(TS: 18 Oct 21:32 ET)‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍ pic.twitter.com/11zWWNQniU

— Commentary: Trump Truth Social Posts On X (@TrumpTruthOnX) October 19, 2025

In case the video of Trump pouring poop on demonstrators didn’t make his feelings clear, he also reposted an AI video shared by Vice-President J.D. Vance on Bluesky, which shows Trump crowning himself and Democrats bowing as the song “Hail to the King” by Avenged Sevenfold plays in the background:

And the official White House X account shared an image of Trump and Vance wearing crowns:

We’re built different. Have a good night, everyone. 👑 pic.twitter.com/4WBVxq2Cfe

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) October 19, 2025

Trump was still posting about the protests on Sunday, sharing this video joking that he’ll be president “4EVA”:

New media post from Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/Y8xjtoanft

— Commentary: Trump Truth Social Posts On X (@TrumpTruthOnX) October 19, 2025

When asked to respond to the president posting videos of himself pooping on the American people, Speaker Johnson said he was just “using satire to make a point,” adding, “You can argue he’s probably the most effective person who has ever used social media.”

You do not actually have to hand it to Trump for his genius use of fecal humor. But as CNN’s Stephen Collinson observed, the trolling posts did serve a dual purpose, undermining concerns about Trump becoming a king while simultaneously suggesting that would be pretty cool:

MAGA supporters can blast anyone who takes offense to the posts as lacking a sense of humor and being prim. The posts also trivialize protesters’ gravely serious claims that America is witnessing a wannabe autocrat. But they also subtly advance the thesis that Trump is all-powerful and immune from dissent, an attractive proposition to voters who like a strongman.

Issuing kinglike threats while insisting “I’m not a king”

Social media is a crazy place where (apparently) the president can troll his enemies with racist videos and ramble about imaginary “medbed” technology with no consequences. But as Trump embraced monarchy on Truth Social, he rejected it in a Sunday Morning Futures interview, which was taped shortly before the protests.

“They’re referring to me as a king. I’m not a king,” Trump told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo.

Trump: I’m not a king. pic.twitter.com/ddxMpMBOXO

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) October 19, 2025

Trump did muddle this point a bit later in the interview when he threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, claiming it gives him “unquestioned power”:

Trump: “Don’t forget I can use the Insurrection Act. 50% of the presidents almost have used that. And that’s unquestioned power.” pic.twitter.com/2MBpQoo8Ij

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 19, 2025

Continuing to complain about the “very small, very ineffective” protests

While talking to reporters on Sunday night, Trump said the No Kings protests were “a joke” — yet also perhaps an elaborate George Soros–funded plot that his administration is investigating.

“I looked at the people, they’re not representative of this country. And I looked at all the brand-new signs paid for — I guess it was paid for by Soros and other radical-left lunatics. It looks like it was, we’re checking it out,” Trump said on Air Force One.

“The demonstrations were very small, very ineffective, and the people were whacked out,” he continued.

WATCH: President Trump says ‘No Kings’ protests were ‘very small’ and ‘very ineffective’ pic.twitter.com/Kjj5joFJLx

— Rapid Report (@RapidReport2025) October 20, 2025

Saturday’s protests were objectively not small, which probably irked the crowd-size-obsessed president. Effectiveness is subjective, but if the point was to draw attention to Trump’s abuses of power and maybe get under his skin, the fact that he keeps complaining about them suggests they actually did do something.

Trump Dumps a Barrage of Trolling No Kings Protest Responses

Trump Dumps a Barrage of Trolling No Kings Protest Responses