As the government shutdown grinds through its third week, this weekend could be a major turning point, with “no kings” rallies taking place across the country. Republicans say these rallies have contributed to the partisan gridlock and are putting Democrats on blast for their support of the protests.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., has accused Democrats of refusing to support a funding extension and prolonging the shutdown to appease the Saturday crowd, or as he calls it, “the hate America rally.”
“You’re going to bring together the Marxists, the socialists, the Antifa advocates, the anarchists and the pro-Hamas wing of the far-left Democrat party. That is the modern Democratic Party,” said Johnson on Friday. “As the shutdown drags on, it’s becoming increasingly clear that this spectacle is the reason the Democrats have refused to reopen the government.”
Schumer himself has praised the rallies.
“This weekend’s no kings rallies will be an affirmation about what America is all about. We are a democracy in America, we have no kings, despite the fact that Trump has even said he wants to become one and is acting in ways that are a threat to our democracy,” said Schumer in a floor speech Thursday. “For weeks, Republicans have tried to vilify these rallies… These are love America rallies… no kings day says we will not stay silent.”
On Friday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., was unclear about whether he planned on attending the rallies, but praised the goal of the rallies.
“I haven’t finalized my schedule for the weekend, given the sensitivities around the government shutdown, and I’m still very hopeful that Republicans will decide to show up for work so we can get the government back open, but I support the right of every single American to participate in the rallies that are going to take place this week,” said Jeffries.
He added, “Showing up to express dissent against an out-of-control administration, that’s as American as motherhood, baseball, and apple pie. That’s the First Amendment… What you’ll see this weekend is what patriotism looks like: people showing up to express opposition to the extremism that Donald Trump has been unleashing on the American people.”
Republicans appear to hope this rally will get Democrats’ obstructionism out of their system.
“I don’t expect that they have any intentions of eliminating the shutdown before their big rally on the 18th of October, apparently. At least that’s what Democrat senators have shared with us,” Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., told reporters on Oct. 9.
