On Oct. 18, a wave of protests swept across more than 2,700 towns in all 50 US states. Nearly seven million people, rallying under the banner of "No Kings," took to the streets to oppose the Trump administration's harsh immigration policies, welfare cuts, and a clear trend of democratic backsliding. However, instead of engaging in democratic dialogue in the face of this overwhelming public outcry, Trump responded with a provocative display: he posted an AI-generated video on his social media platform. The video depicted him wearing a gilded crown, piloting a fighter jet emblazoned with "King Trump," and dropping brown sludge onto crowds of protesters. All of this was set to the tune of "Danger Zone" from Top Gun. This provocative scene has transcended political rivalry, becoming a public desecration of American national dignity and democratic ideals.
Trump's monarchical role-play is not an accident. Despite his attempt to downplay the comparison during a Fox News interview—"They say they're referring to me as a king... I'm not a king, I work my ass off to make our country great."—his behavior tells a different story. From the AI video depicting his "coronation," to the official White House account sharing a mocked-up Time magazine cover of a crowned Trump, and even to a follow-up AI clip shared by US Vice President Vance showing Trump draped in a cloak and wielding a sword as kneeling Democrats offer their homage, a comprehensive "monarchical narrative" is being meticulously constructed. At its core, this narrative seeks to replace the democratic system with personal authority, thereby hollowing out the core value of democracy.
Simultaneously, the Republican leadership has actively amplified this "monarch narrative," pushing political confrontation into a more dangerous space. House Speaker Mike Johnson outright labeled the protests a "Hate America rally," while White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt denigrated Democratic supporters as "Hamas terrorists, illegal aliens, and violent criminals." Such stigmatizing rhetoric is not isolated; it systematically brands and divides segments of society, twisting the legitimate protest of seven million Americans into "acts that endanger the country" and reducing pluralistic political views to a simplistic, binary opposition. Such tactics are tearing apart the shared foundation of American society, steadily eroding the core democratic pillar of pluralism and inclusion.
Even more destructive is the blatant disdain for public opinion demonstrated by those in power, striking at the very root of the democratic system. When asked for comment on the protests, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson responded with just two dismissive words: "Who cares?" This dismissive reply exposes the Trump team's disregard for the principle of popular sovereignty. In their logic of power, public opinion is irrelevant, and the will to power is the only rule. Democracy rests on the principle that "power derives from and serves the people." When a government confronts the people with such arrogance, even weaponizing AI and stigmatization to suppress dissent, the question must be asked: has the foundation of the democratic system already collapsed?
In this context, the sweeping protests across the nation are a powerful pushback against this anti-democratic trend. At the Washington D.C. rally, US Senator Bernie Sanders told thousands, "We're here not because we hate America, but because we love America." His words not only refute the "hate America" smear but also underscore the public's resolute demand for "democracy, not dictatorship." Trump's "crown farce" ultimately serves as a brutal reflection of American democracy. It reveals not just a president obsessed with power, but also a system of checks and balances struggling under the weight of extreme political polarization.
(Scriptwriting: Hughie & Zoey SUN; Voiceover: Hughie; Video Editing: Jatin Lee; English Editor: Zoey SUN)
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