CNN’s Kaitlan Collins Rolls Gang Of Trump Allies Trashing ‘No Kings’ Protest As ‘Hate America’ Rallies

CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins rolled a supercut of Trump allies trashing “No Kings” as a “Hate America” movement as she interviewed a military veteran who will speak at one of the protests.

Activists have been organizing a series of No Kings protests for months, with this weekend’s expected to be the largest yet. Over 2,500 rallies have been organized across the country, with prominent Democrats urging attendees to remain peaceful at all times. Many Republican leaders have taken to calling them “Hate America” rallies.

On Friday night’s edition of CNN’s The Source with Kaitlan Collins, Collins interviewed retired Pentagon official Major General Randy Manner, asking him to comment on the supercut of Republicans demonizing the protests:

COLLINS: Joining me tonight is the retired Major General Randy Manner, who was the number two general officer in the National Guard Bureau at the Pentagon.

And it’s great to have you.

Because you’re actually planning to speak at a “No Kings” rally in Alexandria, Virginia. Why is that important to you? And what do you plan to say?

MAJ. GEN. RANDY MANNER (RET.), FORMER ACTING VICE CHIEF, NATIONAL GUARD BUREAU: It’s very important for all Americans to be able to stand up for our First Amendment rights, to be able to say what we feel, respectfully and peacefully.

I took the oath of office as an officer in the military, on 10 separate occasions, when I entered the military, as well as, of course, during for each promotion, to be able to uphold the Constitution. And that is what I intended to do — I intend to do and to continue to do.

So, it’s important, whether you are on the right, the center, or the left, we all have the right to be able to speak up peaceably to exercise our First Amendment rights, and that’s what I’ll be talking about tomorrow.

COLLINS: We’ve gotten a lot of reaction from Republicans on this, including from the House Speaker, Mike Johnson, and some other top Republicans.

I want you to hear how they have described what’s going to happen tomorrow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): Hate America rally.

REP. STEVE SCALISE (R-LA): Hate America rally.

JOHNSON: Hate America rally.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We call it the Hate America rally.

SCOTT BESSENT, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY: The farthest left, the hardest core, the most unhinged in the Democratic Party.

SEN. ROGER MARSHALL (R-KS): This will be a Soros paid-for protest, where his professional protesters show up.

JOHNSON: It’s all the pro-Hamas wing and the, you know, the Antifa people, they’re all coming out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: I wonder, as someone who has spent nearly four decades serving this country, what you make of some of those Republicans saying that this is not American, that it’s about Hate America, and linking this to Antifa and Hamas.

MANNER: First of all, those are absolutely total lies. Those are the words of dictators and people who want to stay in power, and to suppress the First Amendment rights that we all should enjoy as Americans.

And not only is it absolutely offending — offended to — offending to every single American. It’s personally offending to me and to my family, and my father, and my son, all of us, and my grandfather, who fought in World War II, all of us in the military, who have stood up and been in combat. All of us. To be able to say, You have the right to speak up as an American in a peaceful manner, to exercise, again, the First Amendment right.

Watch above via CNN’s The Source with Kaitlan Collins.

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