No Kings Turns One: While Trump Holds a Cage Fight on His Birthday, America Responds with Jane Fonda, Patti Smith, and 500 Watch Parties

On June 14 — Trump's 80th birthday, the one-year anniversary of the first No Kings protest, and the day of his UFC cage fight on the White House lawn — the No Kings Coalition responded with "Rise Up, Sing Out: A Concert for the First Amendment." Jane Fonda, Patti Smith, Bette Midler, Rufus Wainwright, Joy Reid, and drag queen Peppermint performed at The Town Hall in New York City, livestreamed to nearly 500 watch parties in living rooms, churches, breweries, and community centers across the country. The Committee for the First Amendment — originally formed in 1947 during McCarthy, relaunched by Fonda in 2025 — co-hosted with Indivisible and the No Kings Coalition. The movement that began with 5 million a year ago, grew to 9 million in March 2026, now pivoted from mass marches to hyper-local infrastructure. While Trump watched cage fights behind bulletproof glass, America sang.

June 14, 2026. The president turns 80 inside a bulletproof glass suite, watching cage fights on the South Lawn of the White House, surrounded by crypto sponsors, $12,000 coins with his face, and fighters paid in his family's stablecoin. Across the country, the response is different.

The concert

The Committee for the First Amendment, partnering with Indivisible and the No Kings Coalition, hosted "Rise Up, Sing Out: A Concert for the First Amendment" at The Town Hall in New York City. The 90-minute show, beginning at 7:30 PM ET, featured:

Jane Fonda
Patti Smith
Bette Midler
Rufus Wainwright
Sasha Allen
Joy Reid
Peppermint
Wilson Cruz
Broadway Inspirational Voices
Singing Resistance and the Rude Mechanical Orchestra

The concert celebrated the freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment — speech, religion, press, assembly, and protest — every one of which this administration has attacked.

The Committee for the First Amendment

The Committee for the First Amendment was originally formed in 1947 during the McCarthy era — an alliance of artists and leaders dedicated to protecting free speech against government censorship and political intimidation. It was dissolved in 1948. Jane Fonda relaunched it in 2025, because it was needed again.

In 1947, the threat was a senator with a list. In 2026, the threat is a president with a cage fight.

The watch parties

The concert was livestreamed free to nearly 500 watch parties across the country — in red states and blue:

Living rooms
Churches
Breweries
Community centers
Businesses

Several thousand more signed up to watch from home. The event was free to access — register, get a link, gather your neighbors. The point was not the concert. The point was the gathering.

The strategic pivot

June 14 marked a deliberate shift in the No Kings movement — from mass street marches to hyper-local, relationship-based organizing. The No Kings Coalition:

"June 14 is about building hyper-local infrastructure we need to fight back against authoritarian attacks on our communities. While politicians from the White House to state houses all across this country act like unaccountable kings, we'll be doing the real work of bringing communities together."

The strategy: use the concert as the catalyst, but build the infrastructure that lasts. Watch parties become organizing hubs. Neighbors become collaborators. The movement moves from the streets into the living rooms.

One year of No Kings

The June 14 concert falls on the one-year anniversary of the first No Kings protest. The trajectory:

June 14, 2025: ~5 million across 2,100+ cities — the first No Kings day, coinciding with Trump's 79th birthday and the Army 250th Anniversary Parade. Flagship event in Philadelphia
October 18, 2025: ~7 million — the second round, fueled by escalating ICE raids
March 28, 2026: ~8-9 million across 3,300+ events — the largest single-day protest in American history, focused on immigration enforcement and the Iran war. Springsteen headlined
June 14, 2026: The pivot — from mass demonstrations to local infrastructure. 500 watch parties. A concert for the First Amendment. Building for the long fight

Over 400 organizations with combined annual revenues of $3 billion now form the No Kings coalition — including Indivisible, MoveOn, the ACLU, the AFT, Planned Parenthood, the League of Conservation Voters, Public Citizen, and United We Dream.

Indivisible co-founder Leah Greenberg says the movement remains "a powerful counterforce" to Trump.

The contrast

Two Americas, one day:

	The White House	The Rest of America
Event	UFC cage fight	"Rise Up, Sing Out" concert
Cost	$60 million	Free
Audience	4,000 behind security perimeter	500 watch parties + thousands streaming
Performers	Cage fighters paid in Trump crypto	Jane Fonda, Patti Smith, Bette Midler
Merchandise	$12,000 gold coins with Trump's face	Inflatable flamingos, homemade signs
Revenue	Goes to the president's family	Goes to the movement
Point	The president's birthday party	The First Amendment

One side built a 90-foot steel cage on the South Lawn and called it patriotism. The other side gathered in living rooms and sang. Both claimed to be celebrating America. Only one of them charged $12,000 for a coin with their face on it.

The movement that started with 5 million people on the streets has spent a year growing — from Philadelphia to 3,300 cities, from 5 million to 9 million, from marches to infrastructure. On its one-year anniversary, while the president watched men fight in a cage behind bulletproof glass, America chose to sing instead.