Washington Examiner columnist Guy Benson said the No Kings protesters “aren’t actually” opposed to oligarchy or authoritarianism if the tyrant behind it supports their beliefs.
The third nationwide No Kings protests were held on Saturday, where numerous lawmakers such as Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) delivered speeches. Benson said the protests are a “pressure valve” for the Democratic Party, and spotlighted the speech Sanders delivered where he rejected “authoritarianism” and “oligarchy.”
“I would simply note that this is a man who chose to honeymoon in the Soviet Union, and I wonder what his thoughts were on a left-wing oligarchy and authoritarian regime because I think some of these people who say that they’re against those things aren’t actually,” Benson said on Fox Business’s Varney & Co. Monday.
“They’re for them if the tyrants share their ideology,” he said.
Sanders’ 10-day honeymoon to the Soviet Union took place in 1988, when he was serving as the mayor of Burlington, Vermont. Sanders proposed taking “the strengths of both systems” of the Soviet Union and Vermont after the trip, saying, “Let’s learn from each other,” according to the Washington Post.
Fox Business host Stuart Varney recalled an “old joke” about Sanders’ honeymoon, with the punchline being, “He never came back.”
Benson also said the No Kings protests “certainly” seem to be attracting many people, keeping them engaged ahead of the November 2026 elections. He added that the protests “probably” are “something of a turnout machine” for the party.
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Washington Examiner columnist Joe Concha also addressed how “contrived” the No Kings protests are, citing an investigation that claimed around 500 groups are behind the protests. He argued this doesn’t “scream” organic or grassroots on Monday.
Concha also asked how people could march and chant “no kings” when the Democratic Party “installed” former Vice President Kamala Harris as its presidential nominee in July 2024. He added that WikiLeaks showed the Democratic National Committee did “everything” to install former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over Sanders in 2016.