AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
It's a split-screen moment in America right now. Here in Washington yesterday, President Trump presided over a rare military parade, celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Army, which happened to fall on his 79th birthday. Meanwhile, people gathered across the country to protest what they saw as the politicizing of the military and Trump's attacks on the country's checks and balances. The protests were called No Kings. NPR's Frank Langfitt went to one of the protests and the parade, and he's here on the line with us this morning. Hi, Frank.
FRANK LANGFITT, BYLINE: Hi, Ayesha.
RASCOE: So let's start with the big picture. What was your takeaway from visiting these two events?
LANGFITT: Yeah, I started the day in Annapolis - that's the capital of Maryland - for one of these No Kings rallies. And then I drove to the National Mall, where the tanks rolled from, like, Lincoln Memorial to the White House. And, Ayesha, I really felt like I was traveling between two different countries with their own cultures and ways of seeing the United States.
RASCOE: So give me some examples.
LANGFITT: Yeah, they were completely different crowds and focused on very different things. One thing, though, is they all were very focused on being - as they saw themselves - as intensely patriotic.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Singing) America, America.
LANGFITT: You can hear a little of this singing in front of the State House. At this No Kings protest in Annapolis, you saw a crowd mostly filled of white liberals, I think. And they brought out a George Washington reenactor. He had a white wig. And he gave this speech that Washington delivered when he gave up his military command here in 1783.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED REENACTOR: (As George Washington) I retire from the great theater of action and bidding an affectionate farewell to this august body under whose orders I have so long acted. I hereby offer my commission and leave all the employments of public life.
(CHEERING)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Hear, hear.
LANGFITT: And the protester's point, Ayesha, was here's Washington voluntarily giving up military power, while they say Trump is trying to take on more military power.
RASCOE: You said there was an emphasis on patriotism at the No Kings event. How was that expressed?
LANGFITT: Yeah, there was a union leader who told the crowd that they should own the flag. And at one point, the crowd chanted this...
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Chanting) We love America. We are America. We are America.
RASCOE: So after that, you drive down to the National Mall in D.C. What did you find there?
LANGFITT: It was totally different - a military festival, basically.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
LANGFITT: You had this incredibly diverse crowd. People I talked to had come from Ecuador, Vietnam. They were people who had come to the United States. Now, did Trump appear to try to project military power? There were two tanks parked in front of the grandstand. But people there were really there to celebrate the Army. I talked to a guy named Dennis Connelly (ph). He's from Knoxville. And he was saying, you know, when he learned the parade was at the same time as Trump's birthday, he knew he had to come here.
DENNIS CONNELLY: President Trump - he's a go-getter. He's powerful. And he's kind of like those high school bullies, like Charlie Kirk was saying. And I just think that's wonderful. We have to have a powerful president who's willing to push some boundaries.
LANGFITT: And what struck me so much, Ayesha, is how different Connelly's view of power was from those people we heard from earlier at the No Kings protest in Annapolis.
RASCOE: So Trump was a draw for Connelly. Was there a lot of visible support for the president at the parade?
LANGFITT: You know, from what I saw, maybe 10% MAGA hats - and it really felt like people were there to see the Army and, frankly, 'cause they love to see the tanks.
RASCOE: That's NPR's Frank Langfitt. Thank you so much, Frank.
LANGFITT: Happy to do it, Ayesha. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
