Contra Trump
六幺四
The 14th of June 2025 is No Kings Day in the United States of America. It is also the 250th anniversary of the founding of the US Army and, as misfortune would have it, US President Donald J Trump’s 79th birthday. To mark the occasion, we offer ‘Don’t Arraign on His Parade!’, a parody song re-issued by Randy Rainbow, as well as a selection of art works.
The classicist Mary Beard has noted that Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, ‘Pompey the Great’, marked his birthday in 61BCE with a military victory parade. It did not end well for Pompey — he was outmanoeuvred by Gaius Julius Caesar, a man whose own rule effectively marked the end of the Roman Republic. Donald Trump’s Caeserism is undeniable and, in the days leading up to 14 June 2025, Trump ‘crossed the Rubicon’ when he deployed troops against citizens on US soil (see Donald Trump’s Celebration of Civil War).
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The Chinese rubric of this chapter in Contra Trump is 六幺四, liù yāo sì, or 6.14, 14 June. Containing a reference to 6.4, June Fourth it uses 幺 yāo, an alternative reading for 一 yī, or ‘one’. It is our way of gesturing to 幺蛾子 yāo é zi, a local Beijing expression of ‘stupid idea’, ‘creating trouble’ or just ‘shit-for-brains’.
The title of this chapter features the expression 貳佰伍, or 250. In Chinese, 二百五 èr bǎi wǔ means ‘a dolt, fool or idiot’. It also means ‘stupidity’. Here it also refers to 14 June 2025 being the 250th anniversary of the founding of US Army. Perhaps henceforth ‘6.14’ will also mark No Kings Day and be celebrated as such by America’s friends and allies alike.
Xi Jinping, China’s ‘uncrowned king’ 無冕之皇, brooks no opposition, no protest, and his lavish self-congratulatory military displays put his fellow autocrats, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, to shame.
— Geremie R. Barmé
Editor, China Heritage
14 June 2025
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On June 14, 1775, the sword and shield of our Republic were forged when the Second Continental Congress voted to establish what would later become the United States Army. Today, our Nation proudly celebrates 250 years of our Army’s strength, service, valor, and discipline. We honor its heroic legacy as the guardian of our sovereignty and our fortress against tyranny — and we pay tribute to the millions of warriors who live by the motto: This We’ll Defend.
— The White House, 13 June 2025
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Images from No Kings Day
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