At a Tuesday press conference, Vice President JD Vance mocked “No Kings” protests spreading across the U.S., saying lawmakers holding those signs must be hypocrites after their applause when King Charles addressed Congress last month. His argument—that applaud
JD Vance didn’t just criticize the “No Kings” protests on Tuesday—he challenged the basic premise behind them, then followed with a comparison that landed with whiplash for many watchers.
The vice president singled out the demonstrations that have popped up around the U.S. during Donald Trump’s second term in office, calling out “No Kings” signs and the lawmakers who carry them. At the press conference. he asked rhetorically. “And how many Democratic lawmakers have I seen holding up signs that say ‘No Kings?’”.
Then came the leap. Vance suggested that the participating lawmakers were hypocrites based on how they responded last month when King Charles addressed Congress during his state visit. “They’re putting up signs that say ’No Kings,” he said. ”[The Democrats are] very, very insistent that we not have kings. And then King Charles comes to the congressional chamber and these guys break out in rapturous applause.”.
In Vance’s telling, applauding a world leader in the congressional chamber is treated as equivalent to accepting kingship. And he pressed the point further, arguing that the protests weren’t really about “kings” at all.
“So maybe they don’t care so much about kings as much as they pretended they do,” Vance suggested. “Maybe they just don’t like the agenda that we’re implementing that’s actually making American workers and American families safe and prosperous again.”
On social media, the reasoning was met with confusion and mockery. One user dismissed the approach as a fundamental misunderstanding of what “No Kings” is trying to express. “ ‘No Kings’ is about not wanting an American president acting above the law… not about protesting a ceremonial monarch from another country with zero power over the US government. This isn’t complicated.— Peter A Patriot (@PeterAPatriot) May 19, 2026.”.
Another post took aim at the logic by pushing it to an extreme: “JD Vance discovering that ‘No Kings’ was not actually a literal anti-monarchy protest against King Charles personally is incredible stuff. By this logic Republicans can never say ‘Drain the Swamp’ again unless they immediately start harassing alligators in Florida.— Ryca (@_oRyca_) May 19. 2026.”.
Others mocked the idea that lawmakers’ applause during the King Charles address should be treated as a test of sincerity. One tweet asked why the same protest energy wouldn’t be directed at more everyday targets. “One person did take Vance’s suggestion of hypocrisy to its logical extreme. and wondered why those dang ‘No Kings’ protesters never picket Burger Kings or chess tournaments. I’ve also never seen them protest outside of Burger King or a chess tournament. Hypocrites.— Gaeten Dugas (@GaetenD) May 19, 2026.”.
The confrontation has now put two competing readings of “No Kings” into direct collision: Vance frames the protests as contradictory to Democratic behavior during King Charles’s address. while critics argue the signs are meant to speak to the relationship between power and accountability in the U.S.—not to the presence of a foreign ceremonial monarch in a state-visit speech.
JD Vance No Kings protests King Charles state visit Congress hypocrisy accusations Trump second term Democratic lawmakers