Republicans swipe at Democrats applauding King Charles after ‘No Kings’ protests
Multiple Republican lawmakers poked fun at Democratic lawmakers for applauding King Charles III on Tuesday, given their prior support for “No Kings” protests against President Trump.
Senator Ashley Moody (R-Fla.) asked on the social platform X , “Why did I just watch every Democrat in Congress stand and clap for an actual King?” The Florida Republican included screengrabs of her Democratic colleagues rising to applaud the British monarch during his address to a joint meeting of Congress .
Upon entering the House chamber, the king received a standing ovation from Vice President Vance, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
Throughout his roughly 30-minute speech , Charles received multiple ovations, such as when he said that the “bond of kinship” between the U.S. and U.K. is “irreplaceable and unbreakable.”
He also elicited some laughs from the assembled lawmakers, including when he quoted Irish poet Oscar Wilde in observing that the only thing the two countries do not have in common was “language.”
But that did not stop Republicans from taking swipes at their counterparts on the other side of the aisle for applauding the king.
“So, what happened to ‘No Kings,’” the Republican National Committee wrote on X , posting a screengrab of Democrats commending the monarch.
Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas) shared to X a video juxtaposing Democrats electing not to stand during Trump’s State of the Union address in February but standing when Charles acknowledged the upcoming 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
“Democrats ‘standing,’ at the SOTU for President Trump vs. Democrats standing during King Charles III’s speech,” Hunt wrote. “The politics of hypocrisy. The next time a ‘NO KINGS,’ protest rolls through a town near you, show them this.”
“Quite the confusing scene on the House floor today,” the office of Rep. Abe Hamadeh (R-Ariz.) wrote on X . “Many of Congressman Hamadeh’s Democrat colleagues, who have spent months chanting ‘No Kings,’ just gave one a standing ovation.”
Republicans also stood up and applauded the king when he acknowledged the country’s quincentennial and throughout his address.
Since President Trump returned to office, three sets of “No Kings” protests have occurred: last June 14, on Trump’s birthday; last October; and exactly one month ago. The protests, which numerous Democratic lawmakers attended, were intended to show that “in America, we don’t have kings,” according to the event’s website .
After the second round of demonstrations in October, the president said they were “not representative of this country” and denied that he was a king.
“And by the way, I’m not a king,” he told reporters on Air Force One. “I’m not a king. I work my a– off to make our country great, that’s all it is. I’m not a king, at all.”
On Tuesday, the White House posted to X a photo of Trump and Charles at an event earlier in the day with the caption: “TWO KINGS.”
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