On the day before the second round of No Kings mass protests in Los Angeles (which along with Portland and Chicago has established itself as one of the chief nightmares weighing on the Trumpist psyche),  Vice President J.D. Vance and a fistful of anonymous grey-faced Trump cronies gathered to watch the cowed military brass unenthusiastically fire artillery shells over a United States civilian freeway. The display of military hardware, obviously intended to shore up the domestically and internationally floundering Trump administration, spectacularly backfired. A shell detonated over the freeway, showering patrol cars and civilian vehicles with shrapnel. Further, local newspapers including the Los Angeles Times are reporting that in fact the state government was not properly notified that this debacle would be a live fire event until Saturday morning; thousands of civilian passenger vehicles and an Amtrak commuter train were in the area during the spectacle.[1] This humiliation was accompanied by a quickly forgotten speech from J.D. Vance, who scuttled back to Washington quietly afterwords leaving workers to sweep the shrapnel from the highway and repair dents left in their vehicles.

While the Trump administration embarrassed itself south of Los Angeles, the nation as a whole was once again gripped by protests. The No Kings protests of Saturday, October 18^th, 2025, were in many ways similar to their first round. In Los Angeles, refrains of “No Ice in LA” accompanied more general slogans aimed at characterizing Trump as a fascist or a despot. American flags were accompanied by Mexican, Palestinian, and LGBTQ flags. A group of protestors flying the Trans flag played the flute and drums. Much unlike the protests in June, there was a noticeable lack of police or national guard presence. While this may have something to do with the smaller size of the protest (around 50,000 strong), it was also clearly a tactical decision on the part of CA Highway Patrol and the LAPD. Freeway exits and crucial chokepoints specifically near the ICE abduction center (subject to protests for weeks before the large demonstration) were blocked off. Regardless, crowds gathered near the so-called ‘detention center’ and protested into the night – with relatively few arrests (a mere 12) and the regular brutalization from the police. No Kings in Los Angeles once more drew a large swath of the community (with some reporting a presence in the Pasadena suburbs): old, young, queer, Black, and children.

The major center of protest this time around, however, was in Chicago. At least 250,000 people turned out against Trump’s illegal occupation of the city, the largest crowds since at least the 1970s, according to one experienced observer. Protests broke out across Chicago, convening in its urban center. Governor J. B. Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson delivered anti-Trumpist remarks. Chicago, notably, has been subjected to recent high publicity terrorism from Trump’s ICE Gestapo forces – in particular, the city faced a dangerous helicopter raid on an apartment building.[2] Trump’s deployment of troops clearly backfired once again, as Chicago, along with the smaller city of Portland, became epicenters of anti-Trump unrest. Lines of protesters stretched for two miles down the city blocks of downtown Chicago, all arrayed against Trump’s fascist deployment of military force against the people. Leftist presence, including the IMHO, was visible if distributed through a crowd that was politically and racially diverse – a marked change from the smaller June protests in Chicago. Similar to the Los Angeles protests, the Chicago protests were headed up with demonstrations in front of the Broadview ICE abduction center over the preceding 3 weeks.

Two things are apparent from this recent spate of protests. First, the public is not ready to give up resistance to the Trump administration’s militaristic and anti-immigrant rhetoric. Rather than blindly allowing the forces of incipient American fascism to dominate the public sphere, the masses are ready to firmly outnumber the right wherever they appear.

Comrades on the left should make note of this; regardless of their perspective on the efficacy or political character of the protests, there is an opportunity to speak with a populace chafing under authoritarian violence. IMHO, comrades report extensive dialogue across a great diversity of political beliefs in the No Kings crowds, with frequent interest in the cause of socialism and a respectful willingness to engage among the participants. Everyone at the marches may not be leftist, but it should be obvious to leftists that there is tactical utility in dialogue with as many people involved in mass demonstrations against the right wing as possible.

At a broader and strategic level, leftists should note that the Trump administration is clearly not coordinated, out of touch with sentiment among the masses, and given to embarrassing mishaps in the face of public pressure. The humiliating live fire exercise over the freeway was clearly aimed at Los Angeles and failed dismally to prevent protests from gathering. Further, the Trump administration obviously failed to anticipate such large and involved protests in Chicago. There are videos of tear gas being deployed, but in large part, the police were sullen and confused – with zero arrests being reported from Saturday’s protests as of the time of writing, 10/25/2025.[3] Regardless, the military and the police arm of the Trump administration are clearly facing pressure – yesterday, October 24^th, 2025, the Trump administration announced a shakeup at the widely hated fascist ICE agency.[4]

Leftists should read these signs for what they are: an opportunity to organize while the Trump administration blunders through an attempted restructuring of its forces. If the left does not take this opportunity, 2026 and its midterm elections promise a potentially difficult flashpoint.

[I would like to thank many comrades across the IMHO who provided their valuable insights and perspectives into the October 18^th No Kings demonstrations in L.A. and Chicago.]

[1] Fry, Hannah. Lin II, Rong-Gong. “Marines Fired 30 100-Pound Artillery Shells over I-5, Train Lines with No Warning to Commuters.” Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2025, https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-10-23/why-motorists-not-warned-artillery-i-5.

[2] Schneid, Rebecca. “‘Military-Style’ ICE Raid in Chicago Shows Escalation in Tactics.” TIME, 4 Oct. 2025, https://time.com/7323334/ice-raid-chicago-pritzker-trump/.

[3] “About 250K ‘No Kings’ Protesters March through Downtown Chicago to Denounce Trump, Organizers Say.” ABC7 Chicago, 18 Oct. 2025, https://abc7chicago.com/post/no-kings-protest-chicago-today-thousands-gather-grant-park-oppose-donald-trump-administration-ice-arrests/18031765/.

[4] Aleaziz, Hamed, and Tyler Pager Reporting from Washington. “Trump Administration Plans a Shake-Up at ICE to Speed Deportations.” The New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025. U.S. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/24/us/politics/trump-deportations-ice.html.