Window to the World
BY BRODEN MOCK | JUNE 14TH, 2025
It was not that long into Donald Trump’s second administration, a mere five months it has been, and already mass protests have been ignited across the United States of America. On June 14th, what’s been labeled “No Kings Day” took place in cities and towns across the country, a day in its purest form, a rebuke of authoritarianism and idolization, particularly of Donald Trump. “No Kings Day” has taken on a wide range of meanings depending on where you are and who you’re talking to. The slogan itself, “No Kings,” implies a rejection of any one man being raised above the system. But as I stood on the main street in Craig, Colorado, a small rural town with a deep red voting history, I found myself caught between the noise of two opposing crowds yelling across the street, wondering what any of this was really achieving.
Craig might not be the kind of place you expect a protest like this to happen. That’s what surprised me most. From New York and Los Angeles to places like Flagstaff, Bozeman, and here in Craig, the “No Kings Day” movement swept into both major metropolitan areas and the quiet, overlooked corners of America. It revealed something important: people in this country, regardless of region, are pissed off and they are showing up. In Craig, the protest formed between 7th and 8th on Yampa Avenue, heading north toward Baggs, Wyoming. On one side, the “No Kings” demonstrators, and on the other, pro-Trump supporters, smaller in numbers but equally as loud and just as determined. Breaking into chants, other times exchanging insults, the energy ebbed and flowed like a tide of voices trying to drown each other out.
I crossed into the “No Kings” side first. There, I spoke with two individuals who were calm and collected despite the noise. They expressed immense frustration, not just with Trump, but with what they felt were policies that directly harmed their communities. One referenced an executive order that expanded the use of expedited removal, allowing deportation without full immigration court proceedings. In the simplest terms, if you’ve been here under two years and can’t prove lawful entry, you can be removed without even seeing a judge. He states, “That’s dangerous. That’s not due process.” Another protester spoke passionately about the potential loss of public benefits, mostly due to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. She speaks out on what she believes is taking about healthcare, education, and food stamps, essential services away from people. “It’s their children, it’s whole communities that suffer.” She also stated that she was hoping that Donald Trump would stick to his promise to deport violent criminal immigrants, but she believes he has not stuck to this.
Then I made my way across the street to the pro-Trump crowd. It was smaller. That’s where I met a woman holding a flag that read “TRUMP 2024″ in American flag print. Her tone was sharp at first, but after a few minutes of conversation, it softened. She told me that her son-in-law, a Hispanic man, is currently in the lengthy and complicated process of obtaining his green card. “He’s a great man,” she said. She continued, “But you watch the news, and you’d think every immigrant is either a criminal or a victim. It changes how people look at you.” Also stating, “I don’t think kicking people out of the country is the answer, we need rules, we need order, there is a better way of doing this.” It was her frustration, not just with immigration, but with the division itself. “Neither side listens anymore,” she told me. “They scream at each other, find someone to blame, call it activism. Nothing gets solved.”
Hate blinds people, and I am not here to join a camp, but I am concerned with how easy it’s become to fall into one-sided narratives, especially when media outlets on both sides cherry-pick the loudest, most outrageous voices to represent the rest. That is entertainment, and it is addictive; we all know this firsthand. If “No Kings Day” is about rejecting perceived authoritarianism, cool… but also look at the fact that we also need to reject blind loyalty to headlines. We must read for ourselves, talk to people face to face, and challenge our assumptions. We all like to say this, but no one ever actually follows through on it. I do not blame them; it is just how things happen. What I saw in Craig was two groups that agreed on more than they realized: they are tired, they feel overlooked, and they want things to change. Change is a long road ahead, and in my honest opinion, I do not believe the change they want will happen. However, if we start by talking with each other instead of at each other, we’re just going to keep shouting across the street. And with a little more listening, we can start opening that window to the world we actually live in.
