House Speaker Mike Johnson on Sunday dismissed the nationwide “No Kings” protests against President Trump as a politically motivated spectacle, accusing Democratic leaders of using the demonstrations to shield themselves from pressure from their party’s left flank.
The Louisiana Republican said the irony of the message is stunning.
“If President Trump was a king, the government would be open right now,” Mr. Johnson said on ABC’s “This Week.” “If President Trump was a king, they would not have been able to engage in that free speech exercise out on the mall, by the way, which was open because President Trump hasn’t closed it.”
Mr. Johnson contrasted the current situation with the 2013 government shutdown under President Barack Obama, during which access to the National Mall in Washington was restricted, and federal employees in charge of maintenance were furloughed.
Over the weekend, millions of demonstrators flooded streets in cities across the country, accusing Mr. Trump of governing in an authoritarian way.
Protesters carried signs that read “Nothing is more patriotic than protesting” or “Resist Fascism.” Demonstrators marched through Washington and downtown Los Angeles and picketed outside capitols in several Republican-led states, a courthouse in Billings, Montana, and at hundreds of smaller public spaces.
The protests, dubbed “No Kings,” were held in more than 2,600 locations nationwide and drew support from liberal groups and left-wing activists, who decry Mr. Trump’s actions.
Before the rallies, Mr. Johnson warned they would be dominated by radical elements of the Democratic Party, including Antifa, Black Lives Matter, Marxists and pro-Hamas activists.
Mr. Johnson and Republicans cast the events as “un-American.”
Sen. Bernard Sanders, a democratic socialist from Vermont who caucuses with Senate Democrats, pushed back on that characterization during a speech to tens of thousands gathered Saturday in the nation’s capital.
“Boy, does he have it wrong,” Mr. Sanders said. “Millions of Americans are coming out today, not because they hate America; we are here because we love America.”
On Sunday, Mr. Johnson clarified his criticism, saying he was not describing the entire Democratic Party in those terms.
However, he reiterated concerns about what he described as the party’s ideological drift, pointing to New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, a socialist who won the Democratic nomination for mayor.
“Look at the evidence, which is what’s happening in New York,” he said. “You’re about to elect an open socialist Marxist as the mayor of America’s largest city.”
“It’s an objective fact, and no one can deny it,” he said.
Mr. Johnson said that wing of the Democratic Party has Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer running scared. Mr. Johnson said Mr. Schumer will not vote to reopen the government because he fears facing a primary challenger in 2028.
“He’s closed the government down because he needs political cover,” he said.
• This article is based in part on wire service reports.
