First they called it dangerous - now they say it was dumb: Jon Stewart roasts GOP flip-flop on No Kings rally
Following the protest that saw many millions take to the streets across the U.S., The Daily Show wasn’t going to miss out on a reaction piece.
The warnings were apocalyptic. Conservative figures cast the nationwide ‘No Kings’ demonstrations as a looming “hate America rally,” promising Antifa chaos and “hardest-core” Marxism in the streets. The weekend came and went – with jubilant crowds, folk sing-alongs and zero mass-violence – and the critique from the same corners instantly pivoted: actually, it was all just… silly.
So who better to dive into a scathing monologue calling them out for the flip-flop.
GOP gets The Daily Show treatment
On Monday night, Jon Stewart pounced on it. Rolling Fox News clips that first forecasted bedlam and then mocked “costumes” and “angry boomers,” the Daily Show host deadpanned, “Make up your mind… terrifyingly pants-shitting or boringly un-pants-shitting?” He also noted the basic facts Republicans skipped past: the scale and the tone.
Organizers said roughly seven million people rallied at some 2,700 events across all 50 states – one of the largest single-day protest turnouts in U.S. history – with coverage from mainstream outlets describing overwhelmingly peaceful scenes.
The protests won’t be allowed if he becomes king
As he’s rather good at, Stewart pivoted. He pointed at Republicans’ outrage at the rallies’ theme – “No Kings” – and the insistence that Donald Trump isn’t a monarch. He countered with a montage of the former president’s antics, sycophantic gift-giving, and boasts of unchecked authority, tagging Trump as “king-adjacent… the imitation crab of kings.” Entertainment outlets and other U.S. media picked up the line within hours.
When his loyal servants talked about how he couldn’t be a king because if he was he wouldn’t have allowed the protests, it really felt like we were living in a parallel universe of ignorance.
Jon Stewart on the "No Kings" protests that didn’t live up to Fox News’s hard-core violent Marxist expectations pic.twitter.com/X3g81AWcdL
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) October 21, 2025
Can ‘No Kings’ become a wider movement?
Stewart’s monologue landed because it rode a news wave, not just a punchline. National outlets reported huge, largely festive marches from New York to Los Angeles while photo spreads captured families, retirees and first-time demonstrators under the “No Kings” banner. Organizers’ statewide maps and media tallies converged on the same basic picture: coast-to-coast scale and unusually consistent peacefulness.
As Republicans jumped for an angle, Trump posted on social media an AI video of him, as king, flying a fighter jet and dumping brown sludge all over millions of Americans. Stewart, though, had another observation. The “political potential energy” in crowds this big is real, even if the platform is loose. Turnout is not a program and without policy aims, the “No Kings” moment could fizzle out. Then again, it has the potential to harden into a movement, one with the United States Constitution at its compelling heart.
Related stories
Get your game on! Whether you’re into NFL touchdowns, NBA buzzer-beaters, world-class soccer goals, or MLB home runs, our app has it all.
Dive into live coverage, expert insights, breaking news, exclusive videos, and more – plus, stay updated on the latest in current affairs and entertainment. Download now for all-access coverage, right at your fingertips – anytime, anywhere.
Complete your personal details to comment