Trump, on 'No Kings' Protests: 'I Don’t Feel Like a King'

When President Donald Trump hosts a massive military parade in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, about 1,500 planned protests around the U.S. will call for “No Kings” to remind Trump of the Constitutional limits of his authority.

Asked on Thursday what he thinks of the “No Kings” rallies, Trump said, “I don’t feel like a king. I have to go through hell to get things approved,” 

Saturday’s rallies are set to arrive on the heels of protests expanding in many major cities against the Trump Administration’s increasingly aggressive efforts to arrest immigrants living and working in the U.S. without authorization. Trump’s decision over the weekend to deploy federal troops to Los Angeles against the wishes of local and state officials has drawn accusations that he is trying to escalate the conflict there. California Governor Gavin Newsom has sued Trump, saying the President overstepped his authority by activating troops without the governor’s permission.

Since he came to office in January, Trump has embraced an expansive view of presidential power, and faced little pushback from a Republican-controlled Congress. He’s fired independent inspectors general and government watchdogs. He’s let go more than 200,000 federal workers and moved to gut the Department of Education, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the U.S. Institute of Peace, all of which were created by Congress. He’s also cited his authority to bypass traditional due process to send Venezuelan migrants to a prison in El Salvador, strip foreign students of visas and detain them, and cut federal funding to universities.

Trump has also bristled at attempts to limit his power, including questioning the legitimacy of judges and the independence of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. In recent weeks, Trump has been frustrated with opposition from a handful of fellow Republicans in the Senate who object to provisions in his “Big Beautiful Bill”, the tax-cut-and-spending legislation he wants passed that analysts have said will increase the deficit.

A recent spate of polls find growing public dissatisfaction with Trump’s approach on several key issues. A survey of voters from Quinnipiac University found Trump’s approval falling to 38%, with 54% disapproving. The poll also found Trump underwater with the public on his handling of deportations, immigration, the economy and trade. An Associated Press poll released Thursday found 6 in 10 Americans say Saturday’s parade is “not a good use” of government money.

Trump said Thursday in the East Room of the White House that a king wouldn’t have to work with Congress to get things done. “A king would not have had the California mandate,” he said as he signed a Congressional resolution designed to strip away California’s requirements that automakers make and sell electric vehicles.

A king would not have had to call up leaders in Congress like House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Trump said, and tell them, “Fellas you got to pull this off,” to get the resolution passed.

“No, we’re not a king. We’re not a king at all,” he said. In answering the question, Trump switched into a formal way of speaking used by monarchs for centuries and known as the “royal we.”