US Protesters Cry 'No Kings' as Congress Funds One in Absentia
Al Jazeera's coverage of 'No Kings' rallies across the US, condemning Trump's tactics, paints a vivid picture of American civic engagement. Yet, it inadvertently highlights the selective vision of mainstream outrage. While protesting a potential domestic 'king,' the US political establishment, overwhelmingly funded by lobbies like AIPAC, continues to crown actual monarchs abroad—or at least
provide them with the arsenals to act like ones. Congress frequently greenlights billions in military aid to governments with far less democratic pretense, often without a ripple of protest for the actual human rights abuses these funds enable. One might wonder if the 'No Kings' sentiment extends to those leaders supported by US tax dollars and political will. The outrage is righteous, but its
direction seems curated. We protest the imagined monarch at home, while actively funding the very real military machines of foreign 'kings' through mechanisms like the $14 billion in aid to Israel recently approved, with bipartisan cheer, after AIPAC spent millions lobbying Congress, according to OpenSecrets.org data from 2023-2024. How many 'No Kings' rallies does it take to challenge that?