FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump looks on as he meets South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 21, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

This Saturday, October 18, roughly 2500 No Kings Day protests will, according to organizers, be held in cities all over the United States. The demonstrations are expressing opposition to President Donald Trump's policies and are a follow-up to the No Kings Day protests held four months ago on Saturday, June 14, when the flagship event in Philadelphia reportedly attracted over 100,000 participants.

Allies of Trump, from House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, are going out of their way to demonize the No Kings gatherings. Johnson is claiming that the protests are "Hate America" events consisting of Hamas supporters and Antifa agitators, but in fact, the June 14 gatherings were much different from the way the House speaker characterized them and drew a wide range of participants — from liberals to centrist Democrats to democratic socialists to right-wing libertarians and Never Trump conservatives.

Now, Bessent has a new talking point against the No Kings protests and is blaming them for the partial shutdown of the federal government, which has been going on for half a month.

The New Republic's Edith Olmsted, in an article published on October 15, reports, "Republicans are rushing to recast upcoming protests against President Donald Trump as anti-American rallies that are somehow prolonging the government shutdown. During an interview on CNBC Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent blamed the Democrats for a lack of movement on reopening the federal government, claiming that they were waiting to move until after the 'No Kings Day' rally planned for October 18 opposing the (Trump) Administration's authoritarian tilt."

Bessent told CNBC, "No Kings equal no paycheck."

Johnson, at a press conference, told reporters, "Let’s see who shows up for that. I bet you see pro-Hamas supporters. I bet you see antifa-types. I bet you see the Marxists in full display. The people who don't want to stand and defend the foundational truths of this republic, and that’s what we're here doing every single day."

Bessent's claim that the No Kings protests are to blame for the shutdown is generating a lot of comments on X, formerly Twitter.

KrassenCast's Brian Krassenstein tweeted, "You hear that America? Scott Bessent just said that 'no kings equal no paycheck.' Seems pretty pro kings to me."

X user Pramod Sharma wrote, "Bessent's 'no kings, no paychecks' remark is a cynical deflection from the administration's shutdown failures, undermining protest rights and distorting reality. It's a troubling prioritization of politics over governance. #NoKings #GovernmentShutdown."

New Jersey resident Kimberly Clem posted, "Now they're blaming the shutdown on the NO KINGS PEACEFUL PROTESTS?? Seriously, f— these lying m— and RELEASE THE TRUMPSTEIN FILES!!"

X user Maddened Ranter commented, "Such BS. The rally has nothing to do with the shutdown. It was planned months ago. @SecScottBessent always lies. It's not crazy to protest a president who clearly wants to be a dictator and king. That is not what the US is about."

Another X user, Mark Cavanaugh, wrote, "The two events are not connected but these GOP ghouls certainly seem scared by the No Kings rallies. Funny since NO KINGS is a founding principle of our government."s

Read Edith Olmsted's full article for The New Republic at this link.