Denise Miller wrote this poem titled No Kings in America on her Substack about the No Kings Rally on June 14. It is reprinted here with permission. There will be No Kings Protests on October 18 throughout the U.S. as well as Johnstown.

An unapologetic protest poem about power, truth, and the fight to reclaim our democracy.

Some poems write themselves in anger, others in sorrow. This one was born out of both. What happens when a nation begins to forget what it stands for—when truth is twisted, democracy threatened, and basic human dignity dismissed? This is my response. Not a political essay, not a debate—just the truth as I see it.
This is my resistance.

Divisive.
Egotistical.
Dishonest.
Impulsive.
Vindictive.
Racist.
Narcissistic.
Incompetent.
Misogynistic.
Wannabe King.

You disregard democratic norms,
corrupt the vote, then look away.
Into the Capitol,
MAGA storms—
“Let’s find the votes,” you say.

Silencing media that choose to share
what you don’t want the public to hear.
Promoting misinformation without a care—
all you do is spread fear.

Truth and fiction blur in your world.
It’s the image you cultivate.
“The media is the enemy,” you unfurled,
as you build a loyal cult of hate.

Loyalty to Trump is all that matters.
If we disagree? “You’re fired.”
Skill, intelligence, truth—shattered.
Critics mocked, and justice not required.

You glorify yourself with endless praise:
“The greatest president of all time,” you claim.
“No one has seen anything like me before.”
You claim superior intelligence,
say “common sense” is at your core.

But your leadership relies
on division, fear, and scare quotes.
Opponents become criminals
when they do not comply—
now labeled as traitors by your MAGA votes.

You incited a violent attack on our Capitol
on January 6th—an act so radical.
Then you pardoned those who killed and harmed,
desecrating democracy, unalarmed.
Even your own vice president turned away—
unwilling to die for your ego that day.

You antagonize and inflame,
unleashing hate without shame.
You undermine the rule of law,
twist justice without flaw.
You pardon loyalists, protect their name,
and persecute critics to shift the blame.

You militarized protest response in L.A.,
then claimed you kept the flames at bay.
But it was your rhetoric, sharp and brash,
that struck the spark and lit the match.

This country does not want kings or dictators—
Mussolini, Hitler, McCarthy, or Wallace impostors.

We reject your “Big Beautiful Bill,”
a scheme designed to break, not build.
It strips the poor of what they need,
to let the wealthy grow their greed.

Schools that gave their kids a light—
you gutted it all in the dead of night.

You say most immigrants are criminals,
painting families as threats—so cynical.
They seek safety, hope, and opportunity,
but you deny their shared humanity.

You call for mass removals, cold and sly,
erasing the hands that shaped our “why.”

Worse—you support arresting even those with rights,
documented citizens, seized in broad daylight.
Without charges, without due process or care,
no regard for the laws that should be there.

The Constitution you swore to uphold—
now broken, abandoned, and left in the cold.

In your America,
citizenship is conditional,
and justice is optional—
reserved only for those
who pledge their loyalty to you.

You seek to silence women,
unless we’re there to be seen,
to serve your table,
or bear your seed.

Blessed be the fruit…

Isn’t it ironic?
For without immigrants,
you never would have wed.

The Army’s 250th Birthday—
you summon tanks for a $45 million parade,
a spectacle for your Big Boy birthday instead.

Stealing valor from those who served,
to cast a spotlight on yourself—
a draft dodger, tail tucked from fright,
parading false strength in borrowed might.

You swelled the national debt with ease—
to $1.9 trillion, no apologies.
And now your approval drifts, deflates,
like a balloon, now at thirty-eight.

You are running this country into the ground,
where echoes of unity can no longer be found.
We are more divided than ever before,
teetering on the edge of war—
both civil and global in scale.
Peace is almost destined to fail.

You call yourself the sole savior of this nation,
handpicked by God.

But what have “your” judges,
“your” generals,
“your” military
done to Make America Great Again?

Were you sent to save us—
or destroy us?

The same violence and violation
you inflicted on countless women—
groping,
assaulting,
and sexual acts without consent—
you now inflict on this country.

You exploit it.
You degrade it.

Shame on you.

You are not above the law.

We will not let you take our flag.
We will not let you keep dividing this country.

We will rise.
We will stand.
We will fight for our democracy.

There are no kings in America.

And you will not rewrite the truth
we carved from revolution in 1776.

We are a nation born of resistance—
and we will not submit to you.

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