It’s not exactly a secret that in American politics, partisan officials distribute talking points to their allies. The purpose is obvious: Those in a position of authority have specific messages and phrases they want the public to hear, and so they encourage disciplined communications, to be repeated as often as possible.

Ahead of Saturday’s No Kings rallies, Republican officials haven’t exactly been subtle in what they want to convey. The Washington Post reported:

Ahead of thousands of anti-authoritarian ‘No Kings’ protests planned for Saturday across the United States, Republicans are trying to brand the demonstrations as ‘hate America’ rallies, ramping up their rhetoric about the millions of people expected to peacefully protest President Donald Trump and his administration’s policies as they did in June.

After House Speaker Mike Johnson used the line a week ago, claiming the No Kings protest scheduled in Washington, D.C., deserved to be seen as a “hate America rally,” I started taking notes on how many GOP officials embraced that phrasing.

Soon after, I had to give up. So many Republicans were pushing the same line that it proved overwhelming.

The more Republican rhetoric about the No Kings events turns hysterical, the easier it is to believe that the party is panicking about the growing public backlash to its agenda. Just as notably, let’s not forget that a benchmark of any authoritarian movement is the delegitimization of political opposition and a crackdown on public dissent.

But looking specifically at the party’s choice of slander, it’s also worth emphasizing the degree to which Republicans are helping prove the progressive activists’ point.

There were plenty of ways for GOP officials to attack these protests. For that matter, Republicans could’ve simply ignored them or downplayed their importance.

Instead, the party settled on an unusual smear: To oppose Trump, they appear to argue, is to “hate America.” It’s a perspective rooted in the idea that the president is the embodiment of the United States, and as such, his critics are necessarily unpatriotic.

No Kings protesters couldn’t possibly love their country or its highest ideals, the Republican argument goes, because if they did, these progressive activists would join the cult of personality the GOP has built up around their party’s president.

“L’État, c’est moi” is a phrase attributed to 17th century French King Louis XIV. Now, 370 years later, Republicans are putting their own twist on the adage: “I am the state” has effectively become “Trump is the state.”

Recommended

Maddowblog

Trump’s over-the-top reaction to the ‘No Kings’ events was proof of their success

Steve Benen

Maddowblog

Poll shows the ‘No Kings’ protest movement topping MAGA in public support

Steve Benen

The party has been headed down this path for much of the year. Indeed, the president, not long after his second inaugural described himself as a “king,” which came just days after he similarly declared, “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law,” a phrase often attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte.

It was around this time when an official White House social media account released a portrait showing a grinning Trump wearing a crown.

Eight months later, his party has decided that anti-Trump protests deserve to be labeled “hate America” events.

If the goal was to discourage participation in the rallies, I have a hunch the GOP slurs will have the opposite effect.