Ahead of No Kings Rallies, Republicans Follow an Eastern European Playbook of Discrediting Protesters as 'Paid'

How Trump brought a conspiracy theory from the Kremlin to the U.S.

Photo by Saad Ahmad on Unsplash

On October 18, demonstrators plan to take part in over 2,200 rallies as part of the No Kings movement. Organizers describe the protests as being in opposition to the authoritarian power grab of the Trump administration.

However, the Trump Administration and its congressional Republican allies have a different story about these protesters: they are paid professionals getting checks from someone, likely liberal billionaire George Soros. On October 13, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told Fox News: “The No Kings protest…really frustrating. This is part of antifa, paid protesters. It begs the question who’s funding it.” On October 10, Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kansas) told Newsmax: “This will be a Soros paid-for protest for his professional protesters. The agitators show up. We’ll have to get the National Guard out. Hopefully it will be peaceful. I doubt it.” (The first No Kings rally on June 14 was overwhelmingly peaceful.)

The central allegation is false: while Soros funds various pro-democracy organizations, they don’t pay protesters. It is part of a long narrative by right-wing populists that popular opposition to their rule must have an ulterior motive, as they have gained the exclusive support of the people. This narrative has a long history in Central and Eastern Europe, where the Hungarian-born Soros funded various programs promoting liberal democracy in the aftermath of the collapse of communism. The populists have chafed at his efforts to foster civil society and instead regard themselves as the sole representatives of an undifferentiated national community.

This narrative has its origins in Kremlin-controlled media, where Soros -- an outspoken opponent of Vladimir Putin -- has been vilified for his efforts promoting democracy in Russia and the former Soviet republics that the Kremlin considers part of its sphere of influence.