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At first glance, the United States seems to be in a state of calm. Daily life appears to be flowing smoothly as Americans navigate the complexities of a second Trump presidency.
There’s a notable absence of unrest in cities and towns across the country. Contrary to the apocalyptic predictions made before the election, society hasn’t come crashing down around us.
Meanwhile, members of the media who orchestrated Biden’s early exit from the Democratic stage and subsequently pivoted to support Trump may be left feeling a tad disillusioned.
In a rather ironic twist, both the media and Trump were banking on chaos and fear to drive viewership and revitalize their flagging fortunes after a challenging four years under Biden.
For Trump, chaos serves as a backdrop for consolidating executive power, while the media hopes for scandal and strife to lure back its audience.
Yet, beneath this placid exterior, a quietly simmering resistance is building—one that the political elite and Trump himself seem to have overlooked.
The growing opposition to Trump’s governance made a powerful statement on No Kings Day, which has been reported as the largest single-day protest in U.S. history.
Data scientist G. Elliot Morris shared on X:
Utilizing data from numerous crowd-sourced records of the No Kings Day turnout, and accounting for cities lacking data, it appears that approximately 4-6 million individuals protested against Trump nationwide yesterday. The mobilized anti-Trump sentiment is surpassing the levels seen in 2017.
Morris noted that while there were just over 5,000 protests against Trump in 2017, the current count for 2025 has already exceeded 15,000.
This surge in protests isn’t solely due to Trump’s waning popularity; it also reflects a transformation in the nature of protest itself.
As a scholar specializing in the dynamics of public protest and its influence on public policy, I’ve observed significant shifts in protest methodology.
For further insights, here I am discussing the protests on Substack Live:
Historically, major protests were confined to a single location, epitomized by events like the civil rights march in Washington, the Million Man March, and various national anti-war demonstrations.
