No Kings event set for 14 June, as Trump celebrates birthday with White House UFC bout

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Guardian

Thu 28 May 2026 10.11 EDT
Last modified on Thu 28 May 2026 11.20 EDT


The No Kings movement has announced a nationwide event on 14 June, directly counter-programming Donald Trump’s 80th birthday celebrations and a Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bout on the south lawn of the White House.

The centerpiece is a 90-minute concert at New York’s Town Hall featuring entertainer Bette Midler, songwriter Patti Smith, actor Jane Fonda, musician Rufus Wainwright and commentator Joy Reid – streaming free nationwide, while local groups host watch parties across the country. The event is co-presented by the Committee for the First Amendment, a coalition of artists and cultural figures, and frames the US’s 250th anniversary as a moment of democratic reckoning.

The plans put two very different visions for the occasion in direct competition. The US president is billing UFC Freedom 250 as a historic national celebration: a star-spangled octagon arena on the south lawn of the White House, with 4,000 ticketed guests, and a fan festival on the Ellipse expected to draw up to 100,000 people. The weigh-ins are reportedly set to take place at the Lincoln Memorial.

Trump has claimed that demand for tickets, for an event which will feature a title fight between the lightweight champion Ilia Topuria and the interim champion Justin Gaethje, has been unlike anything he has seen. The White House spokesperson Davis Ingle called it “one of the greatest and most historic sports events in history”.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/28/no-kings-concert-patti-smith-bette-midler

[underpants]

1. Oh I love it.

[Blues Heron]

2. not much more inspiring than a good old watch party - that'll show em!

[wnylib]

4. Keeping up the morale of democracy supporters is essential

while dealing with a depressing regime.

Also a good way to make connections at local levels to get out the vote for local, state, and federal candidates. Meet candidates, decide on whom to donate to, sign up for volunteer activities like phone banking and house to house canvassing. Make local plans for election day monitoring.

There is much more to No Kings rallies than holding up a sign. They promote solidarity, mutual support, sharing of issues and ideas for solutions as well as local activism.

[Blues Heron]

5. We need protests in Washington DC. This strategy of indivisible's of avoiding DC is pathetic

It was absolutely moral-destroying last year when they let the birthday parade go completely unopposed. This is the same. Uninspiring, moral deadening.

[wnylib]

6. Nonsense. The goal of No Kings is peaceful solidarity building

and local activism. No need for a big rally in DC to which Trump would respond with violence. Would accomplish nothing compared to local, peaceful organizing to regain control of Congress.

I cannot share your negativity.

[BumRushDaShow]

12. They avoided it last year as a BOYCOTT of the sick show of War pageantry that was hijacked for a birthday

The No Kings and Hands Off intentionally planned it that way because the RW corporate media would have done areals of the crowds and attributed them to supporting 45.

The parade was SUPPOSED to honor the 250th anniversary of the Army which was NOT established in "Washington D.C.", which didn't exist back in 1776.

It was started HERE IN PHILADELPHIA and thankfully NONE of those RW loons set foot here, carefully side-stepping the place where our military was officially born.

[Attilatheblond]

3. Who is paying ALL the costs for this travesty birthday bash he's giving himself, and who gets any proceeds?

Rhetorical question, of course.

Meanwhile, No Kings events are always fun and don't cost taxpayers a cent.

[Snackshack]

7. Perfect timing!

[Wednesdays]

8. Kick and rec.

I'm adding this to my daily calendar postings.

[AverageOldGuy]

9. Trump says demand for tix to the UFC event is overwhelming. Maybe not.

Here's a comment from my contact in DC:

That’s a total lie about the tix - saw a report yesterday about Hegseth sending messages to military high ups giving away tix to military people BUT they can’t be fat, are either below E5 or low level officer - they have to pay their own travel, can’t bring family, etc.  it’s gonna be a shitshow - and the ellipse doesn’t hold 100k.

[Scrivener7]

10. I'm in!

[Grim Chieftain]

11. Great timing and I'll be there

But respectfully, we need to drop the "No Kings" moniker. It has been minimally effective. Our message needs to be much stronger and more targeted regarding what is actually happening to our country.

[johnnyfins]

13. really?

“one of the greatest and most historic sports events in history”.

This ufc thing will be forgotten. It will only be talked about in the same breath as trumps corruption and his despotic regime.

[mdbl]

14. I will never watch a UFC fight

unless Pres Dump is one of the fighters.

[SergeStorms]

16. He never fights his own fights....

he always hires someone or cons some ignorant patsy into doing his dirty work. He's a total coward.

[mdbl]

18. which is why I never expect to see one.

[SergeStorms]

15. That he's denigrating The Peoples' White House.....

with such a barbaric display of male toxic stupidity makes my blood boil.

The United States of America has officially become the decline of the Roman Empire. "Bread and circuses."

All for the amusement of an egotistical criminal con-man whose only goals in life are accumulating wealth and demeaning women.

Fuck you, Donald J. Trump. 🖕 I hate you with the intensity of a billion suns.

[KS Toronado]

17. Hope we have a No Kings event every month until the midterms.

[James48]

19. Sign up to host a watch party in your town-

You can read more about the event, a concert in NY, with watch parties held around the country,
And you can sign up here to host a party:

https://www.nokings.org/

See you there!