The “No Kings” Claims of Abuse-of-Power Apply to both Parties

At the October 18 “No Kings” protest, citizens accused President Donald Trump of wasting $300 million on a White House ballroom, weaponizing the Department of Justice (DOJ) against opponents, and slashing health and food benefits. These charges deserve review—but so do comparable actions by Democrats. The “No Kings” advocates made no mention of Democrats condoning/participating in violence against conservatives or of the Biden/Harris administrations’ violations of the Hyde Amendment forbidding federal abortion funding. I address both parties’ excesses because truth and integrity demand we hold all leaders to the same moral and constitutional standards.

Trump’s Ballroom: It’s ostentatious but privately funded, not taxpayer-funded. During the Obama administration, $376 million in taxpayer funds were spent on White House renovations (RealClearPolitics). At that time, Trump offered $100 million to the Obama administration to build an indoor ballroom so receptions wouldn’t require tents—an offer ignored (NPR). Even the left-leaning Washington Post defended the ballroom: “It is absurd that tents need to be erected on the South Lawn for state dinners, and VIPs are forced to use porta-potties” (FoxNews). Concerns that private donations “buy influence” have been raised, but must apply to both election financing and private donations. For the 2024 presidential race, Republicans raised $1.8 billion, Democrats $2.9 billion (IBTimes). Even adding Trump’s $300 million ballroom, the potential influence-funding still “favors” Democrats $2.9 billion vs. $2.1 billion for Republicans.

Weaponized DOJ Investigations: Trump’s DOJ is investigating officials including James Comey, John Bolton, and Letitia James (all indicted) with others under inquiry (nyTimes). But under Biden, whistleblower records obtained by Senator Grassley show the DOJ/FBI subpoenaed records for over 430 Republican figures - almost 100 times the number of Democrats currently under Trump-era investigation (SenateJudiciaryCommittee).

Slashing Health and food Benefits: Trump’s budget bill reduced some benefits and added work requirements to curb deficit spending. This yielded a 6% drop of $120 billion in the current $1900 Billion medical-benefits portion of the federal budget (COpolitics, GovFacts, KFF). This affected medical and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP or “food stamps”). For SNAP, if work requirements are met (18.5 hours/week) then SNAP benefits actually increase due to inflation adjustment plus internet-costs offset. Otherwise, benefits decrease (Yahoo!).  Senate Democrats have refused to approve a continuing resolution to extend the debt limit, shutting down the government (Politico) and halting SNAP payments after November 1st. Colorado residents can contact Senators Hickenlooper and Bennet and ask them to account for their votes to shut down the government that stopped SNAP payments. 

Illegal Taxpayer Funding of Abortion: The Hyde Amendment forbids federal abortion funding. But in January 2021, President Biden signed an executive order funding groups promoting abortion abroad (nyPost). Again, in April 2024, Biden signed orders expanding abortion access, including federal payment for “emergency” abortions and transportation to abortion states (ABCnews).  In October 2024, Kamala Harris said “no conscience concessions should be afforded to health-care providers who object to performing abortions”. (WaPost). Where is the “No Queens” outcry over that extremism? Trump reversed Biden’s Hyde-violating orders in January 2025.

The Left and Political Violence: Democrats did not call on Virginia Attorney General candidate Jay Jones to drop out, even though he urged “two bullets to the head” for GOP legislator Todd Gilbert and wished death on Gilbert’s children (CBSnews). Others on the left have excused violence against conservatives, including the murder of commentator Charlie Kirk for “inducing anxiety by expressing conservative viewpoints” (NationalReview and WesternJournal).

The “No Kings” movement raises valid concerns, but fairness demands admitting that both parties abuse power. Most discouraging is their shared failure to control deficit spending. The Congressional Budget Office offers annual deficit-reduction plans that are ignored (CBO-DOD and CBO-top-127). Spending of $6.9 trillion against $4.9 trillion in revenue occurred in both 2024 and 2025—Biden’s last year and Trump’s first—with nearly identical $2 trillion deficits. Unless we insist on balanced budgets, our heritage erodes, and future generations must pay even more than the current $880 billion in interest annually. That is 18% of the federal budget now, and much more in years to come.

Please give feedback by email on this editorial at lloydbenes50@gmail.com. 

Lloyd Benes is a retired engineer residing in Loveland, Colorado