Oct. 20, 2025

Trump’s AI Crown, No Kings Protests, and George Santos Goes Full Mandela

Show Notes
Transcript

President Trump drops an absurd AI video showing himself as “King Trump,” just as protests erupt nationwide with 2,600 “No Kings” rallies across all 50 states. Celebrities like Pedro Pascal, Kerry Washington, and Bill Nye join the democracy-themed resistance. Meanwhile, freshly released George Santos rebrands himself as a prison reformer—because of course he does. Ballot’s Patrick Gutfield breaks down the madness with all the snark you need.

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Callaroga shark media from Washington, DC, where there are no kings.

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This is ballot that's right, and you can tell Trump

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totally got the message. I'm Patrick Guttfield, and Trump's gone

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full Hollywood blockbuster with an AI video that would make

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Michael Bays say, whoa dial it back? Picture this President

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Trump wearing a crown that screams I watch too many

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medieval fantasy movies, piloting a jet labeled King Trump because

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subtlety is for losers, and instead of I don't know

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presidential diplomacy, he's dropping what looks suspiciously like brown liquid

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on protesters. Kenny Loggins's Danger Zone playing in the background,

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Chef's Kiss of Absurdity. This happened on a day when

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protesters across all fifty states were basically saying, hey, we're

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not big on monarchies. Their signs pure gold, I pledge

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allegiance to no King, which sounds like a rebellion anthem

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written by a high school civics class. The White House

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doubled down with another AI image of Trump and Vice

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President JD. Vance wearing crowns. Because nothing says we're totally normal,

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like cosplaying as medieval Royalty on social media, and when

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asked about the protests, the White House spokesperson's response was

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a classic who cares, which is basically governmental for we're

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definitely not bothered by this at all. Sure jan On Saturday,

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protesters across all fifty states basically decided to tell President Trump, hey,

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we're not your royal subjects. We're talking about two thousand,

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six hundred events nationwide, with organizers projecting an even bigger

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turnout than their five million person protests back in June.

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The theme democracy is not a crown wearing contest. Protesters

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were fired up about everything from immigration detention to federal

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education cuts. In Washington, d C. People filled Pennsylvania Avenue

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wearing yellow because nothing says rebellion like a coordinated color scheme.

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One protester, Uriah Kitchen from Delaware brought his son and

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said they're here to protect America. Bernie Sanders showed up

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to drag some tech billionaires, because even protests need a

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little extra spice. The White House response a classic who

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cares from spokesperson Abigail Jackson. Republican lawmakers called it a

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hate America rally because nuanced political discourse is so last season.

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But here's the kicker. These protests were mostly peaceful, no

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arrest in New York or DC. Some states even mobilized

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National Guard just in case. Spoiler alert. Nothing happened. From

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people in inflatable animal costumes to folks singing Hamilton lyrics,

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this was democracy with a side of performance art. Hollywood's

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gone political again. Seems like every celebrity with a pulse

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in an Instagram account showed up to the No King's

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protest because nothing says I'm fighting the system like a

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red carpet for democracy. Pedro Pascal from the Last of Us,

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you know, the guy who can make a post apocalyptic

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fungus zombie look hot, was out there in Los Angeles

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screaming democracy faster than he can protect a teenage zombie survivor.

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Carrie Washington from Scandal posted her protest picks. I'm sure

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her character, Olivia Pope would have handled this with way

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more strategic panash, but hey, hashtag activism, Am I right?

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Murray Bartlett from The White Lotus showed up in a

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custom No King's hat because nothing says political resistance like

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designer protest. Where Bill Nye, Yes the science guy, was

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in Washington delivering what I can only imagine was a

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lecture on the constitutional physics of not being a monarch.

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I bet he had charts. Spike Lee's telling people to

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get up, stand up, which sounds like a workout routine

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mixed with civic engagement, and Kathy Griffin she's holding a

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sign of Trump as a clown. Talk about typecasting. Jamie

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Lee Curtis summed it up best Democracy and Action, which

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sounds like an action movie trailer voiced by a really

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passionate civics teacher. George Santos is out of prison and

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he's got big plans. President Trump commuted his sentence faster

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than Santos can invent a new backstory, eighty four days

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in federal prison, and now he's positioning himself as the

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Nelson Mandela of prison reform, because nothing says rehabilitation like

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a guy who once claimed to be a proud Jewish

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volleyball scholar at Goldman Sachs. Santos says his time in

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solitary confinement was dehumanizing, which coming from a guy who's

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lied about pretty much everything, is rich. He wants to

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dedicate his life to prison reform, probably because he knows

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the system from the inside, more in intimately than most

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get this. He was in solitary because of an alleged

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threat to his life. His lawyer says he was wearing

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dirty undergarments from other inmates. I'm not saying it's karma,

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but actually yeah, and I'm totally saying it's karma. Now

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he's back on cameo, ready to monetize his infamy. Forty

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eight pending requests. Only George Santos could turn a prison

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stint into a brand opportunity. His message to critics no

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retribution tour, which coming from Santos, probably means he's already

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planning the tour. This is Patrick Gutfield reminding you that

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in America, second chances come with a side of shameless

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self promotion and podcasts made with the help of AI