No Kings in Washington? Start in Providence.
Rhode Islanders have every right to protest, but the people doing the most damage to daily life have been running this state for decades.
The “No Kings” rally is happening in Providence this weekend, and every American has the right to protest. But I hope Rhode Islanders take a second to look a little closer to home before pouring all that energy into Washington.
A lot of people are angry at one man. I get it. But the biggest problems hurting Rhode Islanders are not coming from the White House. They are coming from right here in our own State House. For nearly 90 years, one party has had near-total control of Rhode Island government. In that same stretch, our state has sunk toward the bottom of just about every major ranking that actually affects people’s lives:
• Starting a Business: 50th out of 50 (WalletHub, 2026 – third year in a row)
• Overall Business Climate: 46th (CNBC, 2025)
• Business Friendliness: 46th
• Economy: 45th
• Infrastructure: 45th (U.S. News)
• Transportation: 50th — dead last
• Fiscal Stability: 45th
• Hardest-Working States: 48th
• Higher Education: 46th
• Doctors to Practice: 49th (WalletHub, 2026)
• Road Conditions: 50th — worst in the nation
• New Housing Growth: 50th — the slowest in the continental U.S.
This is what failure looks like when it becomes normal. It looks like young families wondering if they can ever afford to buy here. It looks like seniors watching taxes and utility bills climb faster than their fixed income. It looks like small business owners trying to survive while dealing with high costs, red tape, and crumbling infrastructure. And it looks like a state that keeps asking working people to be patient while the people in power keep making excuses.
Rhode Island is just over 50% independent, but we do not act like it. We keep sending the same people back to the same seats and then acting surprised when nothing changes. Meanwhile, the cost of living keeps climbing, small businesses keep getting squeezed, the roads keep falling apart, and families keep looking elsewhere for opportunity.
By all means, use your First Amendment rights. Protest. Speak out. That is part of being an American. But after the march is over, maybe ask some harder questions of the people who actually shape your day-to-day life: your governor, your mayor, your legislators, your town council.
Presidents come and go. Every four or eight years, the name changes. But the people sitting in Providence have been pulling the levers of power for decades. Maybe it is time to say “No kings” to the people who have treated Rhode Island like their personal kingdom for nearly a century.