The People Are The Power

A nation rises from silence as millions march against creeping tyranny, invoking the Declaration’s promise and the Constitution’s command: that no man is ever king here.

Guest article by Michael Cohen. Follow him on Substack for more by clicking here.

I’ve seen a lot of rallies in my lifetime—from the carefully staged circus acts Trump used to call “historic,” to the rage-fueled mobs that mistook chaos for patriotism. But what I saw this weekend—what America saw—was different. It wasn’t rage. It wasn’t theater. It was resolve. Over seven million people in more than 2,700 cities and towns across this country took to the streets for one shared reason: they’ve had enough of pretending that America is ruled by a king.

The “No Kings” movement isn’t about party politics. It’s about ownership—who owns this country, who the government serves, and whether we’ve got the guts to live up to the words that built it. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution aren’t just framed documents behind museum glass. They’re contracts—signed in blood and rebellion—and the people who marched this weekend decided to enforce them.

The Founding Fathers, for all their flaws and hypocrisies, understood one thing perfectly: power corrupts when it’s concentrated. That’s why they wrote, “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” Not the divine right of kings. Not the whims of strongmen. The consent of the governed. Those words were born from tyranny—from a king who believed himself chosen by God and unaccountable to anyone. Sound familiar?

So when Americans flooded the streets waving signs that read “Make America Good Again” and “We Want Government to Work,” they weren’t being cute. They were reclaiming the same revolutionary impulse that sparked this nation in the first place. They were saying, in plain English: we built this country not to be ruled, but to rule ourselves.

In Washington, D.C., Bernie Sanders and Chris Murphy spoke from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial—a spot that’s seen its fair share of history. Bernie didn’t mince words: “He is enacting a detailed, step-by-step plan to destroy all of the things that protect our democracy.” The crowd roared, not with violence, but with conviction. A few minutes later, Bill Nye—the same guy who used to teach your kids about volcanoes—took the mic and told the truth with more clarity than most politicians ever could: “They suppress science to the detriment of our health, our well-being, and our international competitiveness. It’s a formula for failure.”

Across the country, that same defiance played out. In Chicago, Governor J.B. Pritzker thundered, “History will judge us by where we choose to stand right now, today. Future generations will ask: What did we do when our Constitution was under attack?” It wasn’t rhetoric. It was a moral gut check.

And that’s what this weekend was—a reckoning. A reminder that the Constitution isn’t a prop for politicians to wave around during campaign season. It’s a living, breathing covenant that demands participation.

When I worked for Trump, I learned firsthand what happens when loyalty replaces law and when fear replaces truth. I watched how quickly people surrender their moral compass when they’re chasing proximity to power. That’s how you get kings—not by coronation, but by compliance. The people who marched in those “No Kings” rallies—seven million of them—are the antidote to that disease. They’re saying, “We refuse to bow.”

In Santa Monica, former Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff showed up with his son. No entourage. No speech. Just presence. That’s what leadership looks like—not dominance, but participation. And in city after city, from Boston to Austin, people didn’t need permission to protest. They were exercising the very rights that make America what it’s supposed to be.

Amanda Nature, a former USAID worker fired under this administration, said it best: “Fifty percent of the country didn’t vote for this shutdown or for the dismantling of government services people rely on.” She’s right. People voted for change, not collapse. For strength, not suppression.

The truth is, the phrase “No Kings” isn’t about Trump alone—it’s about us. It’s about every time we let fear silence us, every time we trade justice for convenience, every time we forget that democracy doesn’t defend itself.

The protests were loud, creative, and peaceful—a rare trifecta in a country that’s forgotten how to disagree without destruction. There were costumes, chants, and music, sure. But beneath it all was something raw and deeply American: defiance born of principle.

I know the type of man who wants to be king—the kind who mistakes adoration for authority, loyalty for law, and power for purpose. The kind our nation, in its hunger for easy answers, once convinced itself could fix everything.

But the truth—the one that’s always scared tyrants the most—is that real power doesn’t come from the top down. It comes from the ground up. From the millions who showed up this weekend with homemade signs and righteous anger and hope in their hearts.

The founders risked everything to escape a king. This generation just reminded us why. The Constitution was never a promise of perfection; it was a dare—a dare to every generation to keep the experiment alive. And this weekend, America took that dare.

To those in power who think this movement is just noise, listen closely. The sound you hear is history clearing its throat. It’s the same voice that once shouted “No taxation without representation,” now roaring “No kings.” And if that sounds threatening to those who rule by fear, good. Because the message couldn’t be clearer: you do not rule here.

We rule.

“We the People.”

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