admin
Last weekend’s Gutfeld! panel rightly tore into an overheated media column that tried to reduce the massive No Kings demonstrations to “group therapy” for unhappy people. Greg Gutfeld and his guests treated the piece as exactly what it is: a self-congratulatory attempt by the left to explain away its own political impotence while patting each other on the back.
The No Kings demonstrations themselves were not a fringe occurrence — organized coalitions and activists turned out in thousands of locations across the country to protest what they call threats to democracy and alleged authoritarianism in the current administration. These rallies have become a recurring feature of the political calendar this year, drawing national attention and big crowds even as the left searches for a unifying grievance to keep its base energized.
Conservative skepticism about the rallies isn’t merely sour grapes; it’s a sober take on how modern progressive politics often substitutes catharsis for concrete policy. Commentators and even some experts have described the scenes as emotional venting and in-group validation rather than strategic civic engagement, a dynamic that rewards spectacle over results and fundraising over reform.
There’s also an ugly reality beneath the cheerful optics: large protests often come with isolated violence, chaos, and opportunism that mainstream reporters gloss over in favor of feel-good narratives. When organizers boast of millions showing up but ignore the collateral damage and the hollowing out of effective political strategy, conservatives have every right to question the movement’s real aims and costs.
Gutfeld’s point was simple and sharp: the very fact that organizers can hold giant “No Kings” marches without being silenced proves America is not a monarchy, and it undercuts the movement’s theatrical rhetoric. Mocking the spectacle is not cruelty; it’s a wake-up call — a reminder that politics measured in Instagram clips and emotional reinforcement sessions will never substitute for governance, persuasion, or winning elections.
If conservatives want to win the argument and the country, they should do more than mock. They should offer a positive, practical alternative to the therapy-driven politics of the moment: policies that restore safety, economic opportunity, and civic institutions, and messaging that persuades rather than preaches. America is resilient, but resilience depends on ideas that change lives, not chants that make people feel better for an afternoon.
