Washington Examiner columnist Joe Concha said he finds it hard to believe the nationwide “No Kings” protests are “organic.”
A network of around 500 groups with an estimated annual revenue of $3 billion was behind the coordinated No Kings protests held Saturday, according to a Fox News Digital investigation. Concha said the only word he could think of to describe No Kings was “contrived,” citing how actress and activist Jane Fonda was “reading a script” as she spoke at a protest in St. Paul, Minnesota.
“I thought this was organic, just speak from the heart. [Robert] De Niro, same thing, was tripping all over his script when he was reading his as well,” Concha said on Fox News’s Fox & Friends First on Monday. “And let’s repeat that number you just said, Todd, Carley: $3 billion behind these so-called protests? That doesn’t exactly seem grassroots or organic.”
“And we saw several videos of people at these protests who said they were paid to march and they were carrying signs that were made for them, so this appears to be pretty much a made-for-social-media event,” Concha said. “And quite frankly, again, that word contrived, I can’t get away from because, again, all the people that are there will vote for the Democrat nominee in the next presidential election.”
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 Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in 2016.
Looking ahead to 2028, the Conservative Political Action Conference’s annual straw poll found 53% of respondents prefer Vice President JD Vance as the GOP’s next presidential nominee. Secretary of State Marco Rubio followed with 35%.
Concha said this poll is a message for any Republican not named Vance or Rubio: “Don’t bother running for president next time around.” He said any candidate who does “will lose” unless they are “approved by MAGA” or working in the Trump administration.
BYRON YORK | WHAT THE CPAC STRAW POLL SAYS
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) sidestepped questions about the 2028 election, telling the Washington Examiner that his current focus is on “continuing to deliver major victories.” He also sidestepped a report in November on a potential 2028 run.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said he is “50-50” about running for president again when asked about a Washington Examiner headline titled, “Rand Paul sounds like he’s running for president.” Both Paul and Cruz ran for the Republican nomination in 2016 before Donald Trump won it.
