§65 —
On the king
Democrat
$550 MILLION
The marches. On June 14, 2025, the Crowd Counting Consortium estimated "between 2 and 4.8 million people participated in over 2,150 actions" under the words No Kings 1. On October 18, 2025 — a year ago today — the organizers counted nearly 7 million at 2,700 locations 2; an independent estimate put the median near 5 million 3.
The toll. On March 3 a federal judge granted the transit authority summary judgment, finding the Transportation Department's attempt to end congestion pricing "arbitrary and capricious" 4. The state reported "over $550 million in net revenue in its first year" and "27 million fewer vehicles" in the zone 5. The king declared it dead in February 2025. It was still collecting on its first birthday.
Sources
- "Between 2 and 4.8 million people participated in over 2,150 actions" on 14 June 2025 — Crowd Counting Consortium via Waging Nonviolence, August 2025 ↑
- Organizers counted nearly 7 million at 2,700 locations on 18 October 2025 — Variety, 19 October 2025 ↑
- A median estimate of about 5.0 million — G. Elliott Morris ↑
- The Transportation Department's termination of congestion pricing ruled "arbitrary and capricious" — Earthjustice, 3 March 2026 ↑
- "Over $550 million in net revenue in its first year"; "27 million fewer vehicles" — Office of the Governor of New York, 5 January 2026 ↑
Republican
LONG LIVE THE KING
The post, February 19, 2025, on the day his administration moved to end New York's congestion toll: "CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!" 1. In October, the day after the second national No Kings protests, he posted an AI video of himself crowned, flying a "King Trump" jet over the marchers 2.
And the answer he gave in his own voice, the same day, to reporters at Joint Base Andrews: "I'm not a king. I work my ass off to make our country great" 3. That is the defense, and it is not nothing: an elected president who submits to elections, courts and a two-term limit is, whatever he posts, not a monarch. The crown is a costume. Whether the costume changed what happened to the toll is on the other side.
Sources
- "CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!" — Truth Social, 19 February 2025 — NBC New York ↑
- A 19-second AI video of a crowned Trump flying a "King Trump" jet over protesters — Variety, 19 October 2025 ↑
- "I'm not a king. I work my ass off to make our country great." — Fox News, 19 October 2025 ↑
“I'll just read the dates. February 19th last year: "CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!" June 14th: two to nearly five million people at over two thousand protests under the words "No Kings." October 18th — a year ago today — the organizers said nearly seven million. The next day: "I'm not a king." March of this year: a judge says the attempt to end the toll was arbitrary and capricious. First-year revenue: over five hundred fifty million. Sorry, I've got my coat on. The king declared it dead. Why is it still collecting?”— Lou
“"CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. LONG LIVE THE KING!" Then a federal judge ruled the killing arbitrary and capricious, and the thing he declared dead cleared five hundred fifty million dollars in its first year. The king has a crown, a jet in a cartoon, and one of the better-attended protest movements in American history named after him. What the king doesn't have is the toll booth.”
“The post was a joke, the crown was a joke, the video was a joke, and "I'm not a king" was entirely sincere, which is exactly how you can tell a joke from the truth: by which one he says after the protest.”