Millions of Americans turned out Saturday, Oct. 18, for the “No Kings” demonstration across the country to protest what organizers called an erosion of democratic norms under President Donald Trump. According to AP News, the nationwide marches, held in more than 2,600 locations, were largely peaceful, but then drew renewed controversy after the president circulated an artificial intelligence-generated video that depicted him piloting a jet and dumping a brown substance over protestors.
The 19-second clip, posted on Trump’s social media site Truth Social, showed the crown-capped, orange-toned figure of the president in a fighter jet labeled “KING TRUMP,” followed by streams if brown liquid falling onto the crowds assembled in the city streets. The video, which also used Kenny Loggins’ song “Danger Zone,” prompted backlash from artists, elected officials and press critics.
“Posting an image like that from the office of the president is deeply unprofessional,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jefferies. Other critics called the clip vulgar and demeaning to the millions who peacefully exercised their First Amendment rights. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Loggins demanded removal of his song after it was used without permission in the clip.
White House allies defended the post as satire and political theater. Speaker Mike Johnson described the stunt as an attempt to “make a point,” though he declined to explain what that point was.
The incident spotlights how rapidly available AI tools have altered the terrain of political communication. Experts say the video is part of a growing wave of synthetic media used for political messaging and trolling, a trend that raises legal, ethical and security concerns. The clip circulation during the large-scale protests underscores fears that technology can be used to inflame divisions and blur the line between satire and incitement.
According to The Guardian, Trump saw the protest as small and ineffective.
“The demonstrations were very small, very ineffective and the people were whacked out,” Trump said in the article. “When you look at those people, they are not representative of the people of our country.”
Organizers of the “No Kings” movement said the stunt only strengthened their resolve. The protests, which drew participants from a broad swath of political and demographic backgrounds, organizers said, were framed as a defense of democratic norms and a rebuke of what activists describe as an accumulation of executive powers.
According to AP News, Republican supporters called the protest the “Hate America Rally.”
“Let’s see who shows up for that,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said.
Trump, who has repeatedly used social media to cast opponents as threats and to amplify stunts, has previously shared AI-altered images and video. The latest clip, coming amid one of the largest single-day protest movements in American history, is nowhere short of an embarrassing display from a president who should support his citizen’s right to protest. After all, protesting has brought reform and change that has bettered this country.
Every American, no matter what they are protesting, should have the right to do so as long as they don’t harm themselves or others. It is the First Amendment for a reason. Literally “crapping” on that idea using an AI video is un-American and unconstitutional and not what we should expect from the leader of this nation.
AJ Pearman can be reached at [email protected].
Dennis Whitehead
Protest is one of the most patriotic and American things that a person can do.