What changed? No Kings vs. 2009 Tea Party protests

The No Kings protests that sprang up across the nation in June have sparked comparisons with the Tea Party protests that started around Tax Day of 2009. However, a look back in time reveals a very different treatment by the mainstream media that could not be more at odds with the favorable treatment given to the No Kings protests today.

In 2009, several networks accused Fox News of unfair coverage of the Tea Party movement. ThinkProgress said Fox was "actively promoting the protests," and Politico even said the network was "blurring the line between journalism and advocacy,” using the term “pseudo-journalism” to describe Fox News’ coverage of the Tea Party protests.

'The problem is, you can’t buy grassroots energy like we had in 2009, particularly when the "kings" behind the veil are paying for it.'

A Fox News article said, "The grassroots phenomenon, while largely ignored in the mainstream press, has caught fire on the Internet, where platforms like Facebook and Twitter have served as launching pads for demonstrations." The article went on to describe the Tea Party as a "nonpartisan" movement, though it "largely involved conservatives."

Double standard

Media Matters for America published a lengthy exposé titled "REPORT: 'Fair and balanced' Fox News aggressively promotes 'tea party' protests" criticizing Fox News' coverage of the protests: "While tea-party organizers have stated that the protests are nonpartisan, Fox News and organizers have also characterized the protests primarily as a response to the [Obama] administration's fiscal policies."

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Michael Beck Photography. Used with permission.

The article concluded with a breakdown of each of the Fox hosts' supposedly biased coverage of the protests, but MMFA's main issue was with Fox's promotion of the events.

Media Matters wrote: "Fox News has in dozens of instances provided attendance and organizing information for future protests, such as protest dates, locations and website URLs. Fox News websites have also posted information and publicity material for protests. Fox News hosts have repeatedly encouraged viewers to join them at several April 15 protests that they are attending and covering."

By contrast, CBS News published an article on June 13, 2025, titled "'No Kings' protests planned across Massachusetts on June 14. Find one near you," seemingly presuming public interest in the event and encouraging participation.

Left-leaning outlets were as quick to dismiss the grassroots nature of the movement and downplay the size of the protests as right-leaning outlets were to affirm them.

The outlet subsequently updated the title of the article early the next morning. The current version replaced "Find one near you" with "Here's what to know."

Grassroots or astroturf?

During the Tea Party rallies of 2009, many outlets called into question the "grassroots" nature of the protests, as Fox News reported them.

The Los Angeles Times published an article called “Republicans stage 'tea party' protests against Obama.” The article opens: “Republicans sought to ignite a popular revolt against President Obama on Wednesday by staging 'tea party' protests across the nation to demand lower taxes and less government spending — but the tactic carried risk for the party.”

The reported number of people who attended Tea Party rallies seemed to differ across ideological lines as well. A New York Times article reported 200 people in Philadelphia; "several hundred" in Lafayette Park across from the White House; 500 protesters in Pensacola, Florida; around 1,000 people in Austin, Texas; and around 2,000 in Houston, Texas.

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Plexi Images/GHI/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

On the other hand, the Washington Times reported that the rally in Richmond, Virginia, "drew over 5,000 people on a chilly, rainy day and they were pumped," according to American Majority founder and CEO Ned Ryun. The story went on to report that there were "hundreds of thousands of protesters" at "more than 300 rallies across the country."

ThinkProgress named FreedomWorks and Americans for Prosperity as the "heavily staffed" and "well funded" power players behind the organization of these protests. The article was clearly framed to refute Fox News' coverage of the story, which drew criticism from many other outlets as well.

On the other hand, DataRepublican, a user on X, compiled a database of over 140 organizations that purportedly participated in funding the No Kings protests. This list is not exhaustive, as more organizations will likely be added as more information becomes available.

Some have noted the stark difference between a "grassroots" protest on the left versus the right.

“Oh, the irony. Back when I was helping organize the Taxpayer March on Washington on September 12, 2009, the corporate media leftist apparatchiks like Media Matters were eager to characterize the massive Tea Party turnout that year as paid-for astroturfing. Because that’s how they had always done it,” said BlazeTV host Matt Kibbe, one of the organizers of the grassroots Tea Party movement in 2009. “They still are with their web of government-financed NGOs. The problem is, you can’t buy grassroots energy like we had in 2009, particularly when the 'kings' behind the veil are paying for it.”

A Democrat Tea Party

Clearly, there was a great deal of partisan coverage of the Tea Party movement in 2009. Left-leaning outlets were as quick to dismiss the grassroots nature of the movement and downplay the size of the protests as right-leaning outlets were to affirm them. However, some left-leaning outlets today have seemingly changed their outlook toward the 2009 protests.

For example, Vox recently wrote an article which played up how effective the protests in 2009 were, saying, “The Tea Party reorganized the Republican Party on its own terms.”

Even more surprising is the affirmation that the Tea Party was a grassroots movement at the start: “Notably, the movement was defined by how decentralized it was at its start — though some national organizations later formed to try to organize and wield populist furor, it was mostly a grassroots movement.”

While there are some very clear differences between the 2025 No Kings protests and the 2009 Tea Party protests in terms of media coverage and organizational support, Vox may be right that the Democratic Party is facing an internal reorganization. Or perhaps the very notion of a grassroots movement on the left has become obsolete.

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