‘Complete and utter failure’?: 6 million Americans just proved Trump’s team dead wrong about protest turnout

Recent “No Kings” protests across the United States have demonstrated significant public opposition to President Donald Trump’s policies and leadership style, with millions of Americans taking to the streets to voice their concerns about what they perceive as growing authoritarianism and Trump’s threats against protesters and Trump’s threats against protesters, immigration policies, and federal program cuts.

According to MSNBC, the massive turnout at these demonstrations has challenged initial Republican claims about low attendance numbers, with data analyst G. Elliott Morris estimating between 4 million and 6 million participants nationwide at various protest locations.

Steven Cheung, the White House’s communications director, had dismissed the progressive protests as “a complete and utter failure with minuscule attendance.” Similarly, Senator Bernie Moreno of Ohio attempted to downplay the events by highlighting what he claimed was a “lack of enthusiasm” for the gatherings. However, the actual turnout numbers have proven these assertions incorrect.

Special elections show growing Democratic momentum

The protest turnout aligns with a broader pattern of Democratic success in recent special elections. In a notable example from Tulsa, Oklahoma, Democratic candidate Amanda Clinton secured a decisive victory with a 69-point margin in a state House race, significantly exceeding expectations in a district that Vice President Kamala Harris, whose policies have proven more popular than Trump’s, had previously won by 19 points.

This year’s analysis of 29 special elections reveals that Democratic candidates have consistently outperformed expectations, running an average of 16.4 points ahead of the 2024 presidential results. This trend contradicts post-2024 election assumptions about Republican electoral dominance and Democratic voter demoralization.

The scale of the “No Kings” protests has surpassed historical comparisons, including the Tea Party movement of 16 years ago. While the Tea Party demonstrations against President Barack Obama’s agenda received substantial media attention, they never achieved the level of participation seen in Saturday’s protests.

These developments suggest a significant shift in political momentum. Following Trump’s 2024 victory, many believed the anti-Trump resistance had become ineffective and that Republican dominance would persist. However, the combination of recent electoral success, massive protest turnout, and sustained activism indicates that opposition to Trump’s presidency remains robust and well-organized, challenging earlier predictions about the political landscape.