Recently, protests broke out in the US with a tag line of "No Kings," referencing actions from President Donald Trump and his use of the word "king." Many Christians have joined, saying "No Kings but Christ" or something similar. How should Christians view these protests and related issues?
While many different headlines dominate the news from an international standpoint, one of the biggest domestic stories in recent days has been about a series of protests across the country. Known as the "No Kings" protests, these rallies have claimed to be focused on protesting President Donald Trump and some of his previous comments utilizing the word "king" and related actions, but there is much more to know about these events.
As is true with many issues in modern society, the political dichotomy of America creates differing opinions.
Below, we will discuss some truths and observations about these No Kings protests before examining what the US's political right and political left have to say. Then, we will look to see what the Bible teaches that should influence a Christian's worldview as it pertains to this topic.
Some Facts about the No Kings Protests (and the Lead-Up to Them)
- Back in February, official social media pages for the White House posted a photoshopped Time magazine cover (edited to read "TRUMP" at the top of the page instead of "TIME") that contained an image of Trump wearing a crown and a caption of "Long live the king."
- Trump has issued a large number of executive orders, leading more liberal opponents to argue that he has acted in a totalitarian way. (The following stats are from the Federal Register.) Following his second inauguration, the 47th president has issued 163 executive orders, including 35 in his first week back in office. However, it is worth noting that several of these executive orders were immediate responses to late-term executive orders from the previous president, Joe Biden. Trump's executive order total is high for the first six months of a presidency, but the number is far below some of the totals from early 20th-century presidents. From 1901-1952, Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Harry Truman averaged over 1300 executive orders. It should be pointed out, too, that Trump's first term saw fewer signed executive orders than all but one president (George H.W. Bush) since Jimmy Carter, though several of the men in between were two-term presidents.