No Kings Day: Why We’re Standing Up for American Ideals
By Gretchen Klingler
On Saturday, Veterans for American Ideals will join democracy minded organizations and individuals to support the No Kings Day protests—not because we oppose celebrating America’s Armed Forces, but because we believe so strongly in our nation’s ideals that we volunteered to protect and promote them at home and abroad. We continue to believe in the founding values that have long united us as a nation: liberty and justice for all, equal protection under the law, and the sacred principle that our military service members take an apolitical oath to the Constitution of the United States, not to a political party, a person, or a position.
And those values are now being tested.
This month, we have already watched a pattern unfolding that should concern every American, regardless of political affiliation. National Guard troops and active duty Marines were deployed to Los Angeles without the consent of the governor, sidestepping the balance between federal and state authority that’s protected under Title 10. A military parade is being organized in Washington, D.C.—officially to mark the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, but scheduled to coincide with the president’s birthday. And just days ago, troops in uniform at Fort Bragg were used as a political audience while the Commander-in-Chief disparaged American leaders from a federal military installation. His words were met with jeers and open applause by some of the troops in uniform present.
Each of these actions—on their own—might seem like political theater. Taken together, they represent something much more dangerous: the erosion of longstanding democratic norms that protect our republic. A shift away from our historically non-partisan military toward one where military leaders allow service members to support partisan agendas while in uniform lays the groundwork for a military divided between those who openly support partisan politics and those who choose to remain true to the apolitical purpose of our nation’s armed forces.
The Oath We Took
Veterans know what service means. It’s not about pageantry. It’s about principle.
We raised our right hands and swore to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States…” That oath doesn’t end when we hang up the uniform. It’s a lifelong commitment—to country over party, to duty over comfort, and to the rule of law over any one individual.
That’s why this moment matters.
Using military forces for political gain—whether by deploying troops without proper authorization, hosting vanity parades that resemble autocratic displays, or treating our service members as campaign props—goes against the very principles we swore to protect.
Trump’s Title 10 Deployment Breaks from Historical Precedent
There are historical precedents for presidents federalizing National Guard troops under Title 10 without a governor’s consent — but those moments have been rare, serious, and grounded in a clear constitutional imperative.
In 1957, President Eisenhower deployed the 101st Airborne and federalized the Arkansas National Guard when the governor defied a federal court order to integrate Little Rock Central High School. In 1962, President Kennedy sent federal troops to Oxford, Mississippi, to enforce the enrollment of James Meredith at the University of Mississippi, over the objections of the governor. And in 1965, President Johnson federalized the Alabama National Guard to protect civil rights marchers from violence during the Selma to Montgomery march after state authorities refused to act, and police brutally beat civil rights leaders like John Lewis.
In each of these cases, federal troops were used to uphold the Constitution and to protect Americans’ rights when state governments refused to do so.
What we’re seeing today is different.
The reported deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles without the governor’s consent lacks the same constitutional clarity. This isn’t a response to a state violating federal law or denying citizens their rights — it appears to be a top-down political decision made in the absence of a legal crisis. When federal troops are sent into American communities without clear legal justification or consent from elected state leadership, it raises serious concerns about precedent, civil-military norms, and the potential for politicizing our armed forces.
Preserving the integrity of our military means recognizing the difference between using it to defend the Constitution and using it to score political points.
A Parade with the Wrong Priorities
Officially, we’ve been told the upcoming parade in Washington is about honoring the Army’s 250th birthday. We support honoring the service and sacrifice of our armed forces— and we also can’t ignore the optics. This event is scheduled for June 14th, which also happens to be the president’s birthday. The same leader who previously pushed for tanks on the National Mall, jets overhead, and military might on display—just like we’ve seen in authoritarian regimes abroad. Choosing to specifically mark the Army’s 250th birthday is a strategic decision to honor Trump himself under the guise of supporting our troops. If it was about celebrating what our troops have done for America, this parade could have easily been saved for our nation’s 250th birthday on July 4th, 2026 so all branches of our military could be honored – but it wasn’t.
Let’s be honest: Americans don’t need a parade to remember who we are. We remember in the way we show up for each other in times of crisis. We remember in the way we care for our veterans after they come home or are discharged from service. We remember by protecting the freedoms our nation was founded on, not by putting them on parade.
Respecting the Uniform
We also must address the recent remarks made at Fort Bragg. When a sitting president uses uniformed troops as an audience while he mocks political opponents, it violates the longstanding expectation that our military remain apolitical. President Trump’s recent speech was laced with partisan attacks, directly violating DoD Directive 1344.10, which prohibits active-duty service members from engaging in partisan political activities. By using military personnel and settings to amplify campaign-style rhetoric, the event blurred the critical line between civilian leadership and a nonpartisan military—risking both institutional trust and democratic norms.
Our troops deserve better than to be used as a backdrop for partisan jabs.
Whether you lean left or right, this should concern you. The strength of our military lies not just in its firepower, but in its professionalism. It has remained one of the most trusted institutions in American life precisely because it has stayed out of political fights.
We cannot afford to lose that trust. Not now, not ever.
Standing Up Together
No Kings Day isn’t about division—it’s about defending the values that unite us. It’s about standing together—Republicans, Democrats, and Independents alike—to say that the presidency is a public trust, not a personal throne. That our troops serve the nation, not a party nor a personal agenda. That we will not allow any leader, no matter how popular or powerful, to rewrite the rules of democracy for their own gain.
Veterans know what it means to fight for something bigger than ourselves. We’ve stood on the frontlines for freedom abroad. Now it’s time to stand up for it at home.
We don’t need tanks rolling down Constitution Avenue to prove our strength. America’s strength lies in our values—liberty, accountability, and the rule of law.
On No Kings Day, we march not in protest of a person, but in defense of a principle: that in the United States of America, we elect leaders serving all Americans—not kings serving their own personal agendas.
