ex-CNN analyst warns Democrats reading too much into ‘No Kings’ turnout

NewsNation political contributor Chris Cillizza warned on his YouTube channel Tuesday that Democrats are mistaken to believe Saturday’s “No Kings” protests were a pivotal moment for the party’s long-term future.

Around 7 million demonstrators protested to “reject authoritarianism” and declared that America does not belong to “kings,” according to the movement’s website. However, Cillizza said on his channel that the large turnout bodes well for the Democrats in the 2026 midterm elections, but not necessarily for 2028.

WATCH:

“My liberal friends, you will not love this … trigger warning. I also think that the idea that this is a watershed moment, or that this is telling us something we didn’t already know, is a little bit overblown,” Cillizza said. “Like, what do the ‘No Kings’ rallies tell us politically speaking? That the base of the Democratic Party is mad as hell and they don’t want to take it anymore. Now, that’s not an insubstantial point …. But we already knew that.”

“So what the ‘No Kings’ protest affirms for me is: yes, the Democratic liberal base is super angry and I think that will help in 2026,” he added. “I think people who make any conclusions politically speaking beyond that are overanalyzing … do not assume that the ‘No Kings’ protests tell us anything real about 2028 that we didn’t already know … 2028 will be about the casual voter, the low-information voter, the person who isn’t a Democratic base voter … It matters as a telling sign of the Democratic base. It is not reflective of the broader electorate we expect in 2028.”

Some protesters failed to clearly explain why they were demonstrating against President Donald Trump on Saturday. Others called for violence and wished death upon the president and his administration’s officials.

For instance, a woman at a Maine protest said she wanted Trump dead, while a man in Washington state told a reporter that he wanted to murder White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller.

“No Kings” protests first took place in June, with some turning violent. The movement asserted there were about 2 million more individuals at the Saturday protests compared to those in June.

 All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].

Latest posts by Jason Cohen (see all)

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.