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NO KINGS PART 2 Cartoon published 04/29/2026 King Charles III visited Washington DC and was met with gushing adulation from our politicians. “His Majesty” met with Trump to help lessen tensions caused by Great Britain’s refusal to aid the US military with its attacks on Iran. One wonders why the king was sent and not the prime minister. The media flooded us with breathless and obsequious accounts of the king’s arrival, his appearances, as well as the parades, pomp, and pageantry. Trump told the king how much his mother loved royalty and apparently he does, too. It turned my stomach and it grinds my gears to see Americans act as if Charles is the King of America as well as the King of England. Ron Paul and I agree on the matter. Here’s what the former congressman had to say: King Charles spoke to Congress. (And received a standing ovation). You’d think the Declaration of Independence was not a thing, and the monarchy was back in charge, telling the masses to go away after kissing the king’s ring! This is the year that we celebrate our 250th anniversary as an independent nation. Do we really want to celebrate it by genuflecting to a king? Does anyone in DC even remember the fact that our Founding Fathers were adamantly opposed to the idea of kings? Thomas Paine contended our nation should be the ideological enemy of monarchy. In his book, “Common Sense,” he maintained that hereditary monarchy was absurd and oppressive. It still is! Thomas Jefferson held an intense and enduring disdain for monarchy, and claimed he was “ten thousand times” more opposed to it after seeing European monarchies, while George Washington demonstrated a practical, profound rejection of monarchy by refusing to be king. Instead, he actively promoted our Republic. Like Jefferson, I am ten thousand times opposed to monarchy as well as seeing our leaders prostrate themselves at royal figures just because they won the birth lottery. If Charles had not won that lottery nobody would know who he is or give him the time of day. In the case of Charles, we really do need a ’no kings day’—and keep it permanent. — Ben Garrison