Al Letson at No Kings: hope, fury, and inflatables

On October 18, roughly 2,700 No Kings demonstrations took place around the US. Organizers estimated that 7 million protesters came out to denounce what they described as America’s slide toward authoritarianism under President Donald Trump. One of the largest protests occurred right in the nation’s capital, where National Guard troops are patrolling the streets and many furloughed and fired federal workers are angry about the ongoing government shutdown. 

That’s right where More To The Story’s Al Letson found himself this weekend. Al spoke with a handful of the thousands of protesters who attended to get a better sense of why they came out. Some had creative posters. Others wore inflatable costumes. But all of them told Al that they were concerned about the direction of the country in a second Trump term. 

“I’m here for my neighbors who are furloughed and aren’t getting paid even though they’re still working for the federal government,” said a protester named Sarah. “I’m here for the LGBTQ+ community whose rights are being stripped away. I’m here for my children and the future I want for them in this world. I want a country where we are back to kindness and love and treating our neighbor with respect and dignity.”

On a special episode of More To The Story, Al speaks with No Kings protesters about Trump’s immigration raids, threats to free speech, federal workers being fired, and fears about the future of democracy in America.

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This following interview was edited for length and clarity. More To The Story transcripts are produced by a third-party transcription service and may contain errors.

Al Letson: We are doing something a little different this week because these are extraordinary times. I’m reporting from the National Mall in Washington, D.C. for the October 18th No Kings Rally. I’m standing outside the Capitol building surrounded by thousands of protesters. They all have their own motivation for being here, but the common thread is to push back against Trump and the administration. Organizers call it a movement rising against his authoritarian power grabs.

Sarah, what brought you out here today?

Sarah: I want to stop the cruelty in our country. I’m here for my neighbors who are being terrorized by ICE, families getting ripped apart. I’m here for my neighbors who are furloughed and aren’t getting paid, even though they’re still working for the federal government. I’m here for the LGBTQ+ community whose rights are being stripped away. I’m here for my children and the future I want for them in this world. I want a country where we’re back to kindness and love and treating our neighbor with respect and dignity, and I believe that we are taught to love all our neighbors, no exceptions.

I want to go back in time a little bit. When January 6th happened with the insurrection that happened at the Capitol. I’m curious, when you were watching that, when did you think the trajectory of the country was from that point? Did you think we were going to end up here or do you think we would trample down on that sentiment?

Oh, I thought it was finally the end. I thought we had reached a climax where people would realize the insanity and that we had an armed insurrection against the United States government trying to overthrow the will of the people who had voted in a free and fair election. And we had plenty of leaders on both sides of the aisle at that time who spoke up against that treason who have now walked it back. People who were brutalizing, police officers who were defending the capitol are now pardoned and I feel like things have gotten a lot worse, so it’s pretty devastating.

When you think about the Democratic Party, what do you think they should be doing or are you happy with what the Democratic Party is doing?

I don’t know. I want as much action as possible. I want as much resistance. I feel like somehow Democrats struggle to control the narrative and we allow the conservative right and their media to dictate the narrative. And I wish we found a more successful way to show people that the Democratic Party is on their side. They’re here for working people, they’re here to protect our healthcare. Millions of people are going to be suffering very soon when their healthcare costs go way up. I like opportunities like today where we can mobilize and show our dissent and our unhappiness.

Last question for you, and this is just speaking to where we are as a country right now. You were hesitant to give your name and I’m wondering if it’s because you are fearful of the government. People are out here protesting, but I feel like there’s also a little bit of fear of what the government and what right-wing provocateurs might do.

Absolutely. I believe we have the right to peaceful protest, I believe a hundred percent in our mission today. I also believe there’s a lot of bad actors both in political power and just on media out in the world who are looking to target peaceful Americans exercising their vote. We have the Speaker of the House calling this a We Hate America rally and accusing us of being all sorts of hateful causes and people. And I do worry about people here being targeted.And I think that’s really why we have to be here though, is because our civil rights, our right to free speech is under attack and we need to continue to exercise it. And I take a lot of inspiration from the people of Ukraine and the people all over the world who have fought and resisted and risked everything they have to protect their rights, their homes, and their families.

Hey guys, how you doing?

Protester 1: Hello.

All right, so my name is Al. I’m with Mother Jones and Reveal. And so we’re just asking people, I love this shirt. Just asking people what brings them out there.

I want to come out here, show support for all of us trying to fight back against the tyrannical government.

You have a pin on that says Statehood for D.C.

Absolutely.

I think here’s the thing about statehood for D.C. is that the states that are not close to D.C. I think that most people don’t even think about the fact-they don’t. That D.C. does not have statehood and basically that you are not equally represented in Congress because of it. Can you speak to that a little bit?

So that necessarily constitutes 700,000 people not having rights. And if we think about that in any other context, that’s actually literally crazy to really conceptualize.

So when we’re talking about D.C. statehood and especially addressing people from different states, I’m somebody who’s not from D.C. I came here so that I could go to Howard. I also graduated from American University for my master’s degree, and being in D.C. is special to me.

And living here all of this time and understanding what statehood means, especially given the occupation and also what’s happening in Chicago, what’s happening in LA, Portland, Memphis, all of these different places that are seeing what it looks like for a government to impose their right or their will upon the people without their consent. D.C., I’m sorry. D.C. is the starting ground for all of that. We were essentially here for them to be able to test that out.

So when we’re talking about state rights, when we’re talking about statehood for D.C. that’s why it’s important. We are not a full protected democracy if people in our country are not represented. If not everybody is represented, we are not a full and free democracy at all.

So are you concerned with the federal government cutting off funds to HBCUs?

I’m incredibly concerned. I think that it puts a lot of HBCUs in a bind to potentially feel that they can’t represent or speak to the issues that are going on in a public way because they don’t want to jeopardize their funding, which to a degree is understandable given everything that’s going on.

It puts them in a real complicated spot, right?

Yeah.

Because it’s like all of your students are being affected by what’s happening, but also if you want to keep educating those students, you kind of got to shut up.

You have to. But what I will say is that there are ways around it. There are ways for students individually to get involved. That’s something that I absolutely encourage. If you’re on an HBCU campus, you are in a community with organizations around you that do want to get active. So if you find that your institution itself can’t do anything, then you yourself can say something.That’s something that I practiced when I was at Howard. I was a part of Cascade. That was a lot of where I did my activism and things like that. It really provided me a space for me to speak freely about how I feel about especially LGBTQ+ rights and all things concerning marginalized groups.

Absolutely. Talk to me, what brought you out here?

And so I’m Black, I’m queer, I’m a civil rights attorney, and I’ve dedicated my life both personally and professionally to the idea that we all are entitled to equal rights under the law. And part of that is being able to express our right to free speech. And if we don’t use that right, especially now, we will lose it.And I think it’s really important to show up and to show that there’s strength in numbers and that this country still belongs to us and to not, we’ve talked about organizations and universities capitulating to the administration. It’s also important that we don’t capitulate to the administration within ourselves. And so the country is not theirs yet. We have not lost democracy yet. And it starts on a personal level of telling yourself that and then showing up and doing what you can.

Thank you guys. You guys were great. Thank you.

Let me ask you a question. I’m just curious, in the grand arc of time and what you’ve seen in this country, does this feel familiar to you?

Protester 2: Well, it’s familiar to the extent that I was born in the forties and grew up in the sixties. And so certainly in that era we had a lot of protests that were necessary. So that’s similar, but this is different because we don’t have, for example, I was alive when Nixon was forced to resign. He was forced to resign because people in his own party who believed in the law, who believed in the Constitution, said to him, “You got to go.” We don’t have that now. And so all of us have to stand up and force all of us, all us to face the reality of the loss of rights that are happening and to say that we will not be moved.

Yeah. Are you fearful for this country?

Yes, I am. But it’s not just this country. I’m fearful for all countries or all people in the world who looks to the United States. I’m not saying that we’ve been perfect, we’ve done some bad things, but what I’m saying is our ideals were worth fighting for and they’re still worth fighting for and for those in this country and in the world who believe that, this is a fearful time.

Yeah. Thank you so much for taking time to talk to us.

You’re welcome.

We are standing right now at the, pretty much the entrance of the protest. They have a stage set up. I couldn’t tell you how many people here, but it’s a lot. I mean, this place is packed. You’ve got to move slowly through the crowd to get through.

And right where the stage is, over the stage, is the building of the National Gallery. And if you look really carefully at the top of the building, it looks like three snipers standing, or at least from my vantage point right now, I can see two rifles, maybe three and three people moving around on the roof up there. And I’m pretty sure they’re government employees, but it’s a little bit surreal to be out here with all these people. There are American flags. There are flags that say, “Resist.” There are Palestinian flags. There are people with signs saying all sorts of things. Families out here. It’s definitely a peaceful protest and looming above it all are snipers, so it’s a little surreal.

Do you mind if I stick a microphone in your face while you hold the sign? So your sign says, “Hands off science. Stop the cuts to research and global vaccinations. Trump is making America sicker.” Can you talk a little bit about that?

Blanca: Yeah. Well, he’s firing employees from NOAA and NIH and just other agencies and also cutting funding for cancer research and other research areas, which really needed just to give tax cuts to his billionaire friends so we can’t stand for that.

Yeah, I was about to say, why do you think he’s doing it?

Yeah, just to give cuts and breaks to his billionaire friends and cutting social programs that we need. So no, that’s not okay and we can’t stand for it.

Do you think that this protest is going to be impactful in making that type of change, or is it more about just showing up and being seen?

I mean, I hope it doesn’t impact. I think still more people need to come out, but there’s power in numbers I think, and we need to reach a certain level so that there’s change. So I hope more people come out. I know people is afraid because that’s also what they’re trying to do, intimidate people with all his tactics of putting military people on the streets. That’s all for intimidation. So he has to do better. We’re not going to be just silent with all this happening. Also, the mass deportations. Yeah, no, not okay.

Can you talk a little bit about that?

Yeah. They’re just targeting people based on the color of their skin, based off if they hear an accent, they don’t know if it’s an American or not, which regardless, people are humans. They need to have some dignity. That is not okay. And not just immigrants. He’s also targeting students. Just for writing an article you’re targeted. So our freedom of speech is also not just immigrants, but also students, also law firms that are not doing his bidding, universities that don’t want to do his bidding. He’s just trying to silence everyone that is dissenting and that is not okay. We have freedom of speech in this country.

Thank you so much. What’s your name?

Blanca.

And where are you from?

Well, I’m Puerto Rican, but I live in Queens, New York.

So tell me what brought you out here today?

Protester 3: Well, I’m an American and I feel proud to protest as my right. And I love America, and I feel like these are dangerous times that we’re living in. And yeah, I’m here for my children. I’m here for the future of this country.

Are you fearful for your children for the way this country is heading?

I am, yes, very much so. I’m a proud immigrant. I teach them about world cultures. I’ve told them about how despots and dictators are overseas and seeing them here in their own home because we literally live in D.C. in their literal backyard. These are very dark times, and I hope that the dark times pass.

Being an immigrant, I mean, it must feel, and I think I definitely can relate being a Black man in America, but definitely it feels like we’re in a time where anybody who is not a white male definitely feels like you have a little bit of a target on your back.

Absolutely, yes. Being a Muslim immigrant, that target is especially bigger. My name is very different. So even though if my appearance may look different, my name is different. So yes, I do feel like that it’s a big target, especially being a person of color in this day and age.

Thank you very much.

So your sign says, “Free Palestine. Free-“

Isabel: “Free D.C., Free us all.”

Yes, yes, yes. Please talk to me a little bit about, well, A, you’ve been obviously following the situation in Palestine.

Yeah.

Tell me, how do you feel this administration has been handling it?

I mean not well, to put it simply. I think that there’s a blatant disregard of some of the greatest failures of humanity and humankind and being able to treat one another with respect and not commit genocides. And I think that’s a problem.

Before the election, did you ever imagine we would be in this place?

Yes and no. I don’t think I would’ve hoped that it would’ve been as scary as it is now, but I think unfortunately, it’s like a continuation of trends of overall leadership in the country where, sorry, I’m probably not being as eloquent as I could be about this, but where this is consistent bad policy throughout different administrations in this country that have gotten to this place of complacency and allowing something as bad as what’s happening in Gaza to happen.

Where do you think all this goes? I mean, I think that ultimately protesting is an act of hope, but if I’m reading the tea leaves, I don’t have a whole lot of hope that things will change.

Yeah. I mean, it’s just an interesting time because there’s been a lot of discourse right now about the point of No Kings. I’ve seen some people on the internet kind of adamantly against these kinds of rallies is not having clear feedback or clear policy points or next steps coming out of it.

But I think with this particular administration where the ego is so outsized, these kinds of demonstrations are still productive in a sense that they are, I think, outsize and outpace the rallies that we see in favor of a Donald Trump. And so even if there’s a lot of, we’ve got people from all different walks of life, even disagreeing perspectives at times here president at the rally, but I think it’s about showing the force in terms of numbers that are not okay with what’s happening right now. And so I think it’s still important to do that even if we’re not walking away with clear demands being met.

I think a lot about, obviously people compare where we are to what happened in Germany as it moved forward into Nazism. I think there are definitely some things that compare very well and other things that don’t.

I was just in a Lyft ride last night actually coming back from the airport, and I was kind of making the point that a lot of the ingredients that we see, and not only authoritarian Germany during World War II, in authoritarian Italy, during the Spanish Civil War, were all this, these ingredients that were happening then are happening now. And the Lyft driver was like, “No, no, I’m not worried. It’s not like that.” But I think a common narrative that we hear is, “How could anybody have known about what was happening in 1945 and not been absolutely outraged?” It’s like, “No, people get complacent.

It is a very weird thing in the sense that people are complacent, but they’re also scared. And they also think that if I keep my mouth shut, this will not affect me. And it always does.

It’s hard, and I’ll say this as someone who has also been scared in the past of coming to different rallies, I think this in some senses is very affirming because you see people, you see people with their children. You’re seeing people walking with canes at these like this No Kings rally in particular. And I think that is hopefully how people see that, no, this is a space for everyone to feel safe and comfortable. But then at the same time, you look over on that rooftop over there and they’ve got snipers somehow.

Yeah. The sniper thing is a little weird. It’s a little weird. Do you mind giving us your name and where you’re from?

Yeah. So I am originally from Houston, Texas, and my first name is Isabel.

Isabel, thank you so much for talking to me.