This weekend saw nationwide “No Kings” protests against the Trump administration. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump was in Washington D.C., for a parade commemorating the U.S. army’s 250th anniversary.

Which event won the day? Were the weekend’s protests the sign of an anti-Trump popular groundswell, or a meaningless flash in the pan? Newsweek Opinion contributors Paul du Quenoy and David Faris debate:

Paul du Quenoy:

The anti-Trump protests revealed the Democratic Party and its organizers are a mostly disloyal opposition. They place criminals, illegal immigrants, and even foreign countries ahead of the United States, even to the point of flying Mexican flags and attacking U.S. law enforcement officers. Such actions would seem to fit the definition of “insurrection.” But while complicit Democrats were all too happy to beclown themselves, President Donald Trump thanked the U.S. Army for its 250 years of exceptional service. Amid blatant insults to servicemen and veterans, President Trump’s approval remains relatively high, with most Americans agreeing with his immigration policies.

David Faris:

While the president sat, visibly bored at the preposterous military parade unsubtly scheduled for his birthday, Americans participated in one of the largest mass protests in our history. The protests proved conclusively that Americans will not tolerate the deployment of the U.S. military in American cities, the constant line-stepping over constitutional boundaries, the arrests of political dissenters, or the arrogant defense of police-state tactics. Polling averages show Trump underwater on every issue the people trusted him to fix. He cuts an increasingly isolated and pitiful figure. The protesters used their First Amendment rights to great effect, while the president fumes. It’s clear who won the day.

du Quenoy:

The latest NBC survey shows a 51 percent majority of Americans approve of President Trump’s immigration and border policies. Anti-ICE protests were legally and swiftly brought under control as deportations not merely continue but accelerate. Meanwhile, leaderless, demoralized Democrats languish with approval ratings well below 30 percent, a situation the petulant “No Kings” protest failed to reverse.

Faris:

Any individual poll is noisy, so it’s best to rely on averages—which show Trump’s over-the-top response to protests in Los Angeles have again put his immigration approval under 50 percent. The public approves of his border security policy, but his assaults on the economy, trade, education, and the federal government are also unpopular, driving huge turnout to Saturday’s peaceful demonstrations.

du Quenoy:

A poll taken during the anti-ICE riots shows the American public decidedly agreeing with Trump’s decision to send the National Guard to stop violent protests. The anti-Trump demonstrations only showed that Democrats and aggrieved blue-state Baby Boomers remain dismayed by the 2024 election results. They were rapidly eclipsed by the glorious Army parade.

Faris:

Three different polls asking about President Trump’s decision to militarize the Los Angeles protests found public disapproval. Americans understand that local and state law enforcement can manage the situation without the inflammatory stunt of sending in the military over the governor’s protests. Trump did what he always does: manufacture a crisis, then purport to provide the solution.

du Quenoy:

An NBC survey conducted more recently than all three of those polls registered a decisive majority in favor of Trump’s border security and immigration policies. Clearly, a majority of Americans approve of law and order and oppose the Democrats who stand with criminals, illegal immigrants, and foreign countries over the United States.

Faris:

Multiple polls specifically demonstrate the public’s opposition to Trump’s decision to send the military to Los Angeles, which is well outside the American tradition, as is an expensive military birthday fête for a president. The No Kings demonstrations will be remembered as an effective, hopeful rejoinder to a presidency increasingly reliant on deliberate provocation and needless cruelty.

du Quenoy:

President Trump triumphed this weekend with a popular celebration of the U.S. Army. He remains popular, as do his border control and immigration policies. There is no evidence that the No Kings protests will be remembered at all, let alone as “effective” in opposing the administration’s policies, which continue and have only been amplified. The protests registered little more than dissatisfaction with the election results and dismay with policies Trump ran on implementing and enforcing. By comparison, they faded quickly from the headlines as soon as the parade started and President Trump resumed his fight to make America great again.

Faris:

It is true that the headlines have moved along—to Trump betraying another of his core promises. As the U.S. gears up to participate in or quietly back an illegal Israeli bombing campaign against Iran, MAGA’s promise to end forever wars turns out to be as hollow as one of Trump’s daily, panic-driven policy pivots. The millions who joined together to peacefully oppose Trump’s authoritarian actions sent an unmistakable message: America’s democracy and decency won’t be dismantled without a fight. Americans are, at the moment, still free to choose between solidarity and vengeance. The president won’t be able to sic the military on civilians without nationwide pushback.

Paul du Quenoy is President of the Palm Beach Freedom Institute. David Faris is a professor of political science at Roosevelt University and the author of It’s Time to Fight Dirty: How Democrats Can Build a Lasting Majority in American Politics and The Kids Are All Left: How Young Voters Will Unite America. His writing has appeared in Slate, The Washington Post, The New Republic, and more. You can find him on Twitter @davidmfaris and Bluesky at davidfaris.bsky.social

The views expressed in this article are the writers’ own.