Nationwide mass demonstrations were held by millions of Americans on Saturday, opposing what they view as increasing authoritarianism and corruption in the United States under President Donald Trump.
Over 2,700 “No Kings” rallies were expected to be conducted in 50 states, marking what is believed to be the largest mobilization against the Trump Administration so far.
The organizers estimated that 7 million people around the country protested in the suburbs, towns, and all major cities. It was reported that huge crowds had been reported in New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Chicago, and Boston.
There were also protests in deep red states in Birmingham, Alabama, and Billings, Montana. According to some analysts, the protests might be the biggest in the modern history United States.
In a statement, Co-founders of Indivisible, Ezra Levin and Leah Greenberg, said that the reason to organize the events was, “Today, millions of Americans stood together to reject authoritarianism and remind the world that our democracy belongs to the people, not to one man’s ambition.”
It was reported that the demonstrations are a reaction to an unprecedented level of presidential authority that Trump uses during his second term.
Trump has deployed the National Guard into Democratic-controlled cities to suppress protests and assist in immigration enforcement since January, unleashed a crackdown on left-wing and liberal organizations, and enacted a mass deportation program that has involved masked federal agents conducting military-style raids and detaining individuals without due process.
The ‘No Kings’ campaigns gained the support of Democrats on both sides of the ideological divide.
Former presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Hillary Clinton have all expressed their support, and progressive Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and independent Senator Bernie Sanders.
In the demonstration at Washington, D.C., Sanders addressed the mob, stating, “We’re here because we love America.”
Sanders said, “This moment is not just about one man’s greed, one man’s corruption, or one man’s contempt for the constitution, calling out the billionaires who attended Trump’s inauguration, specifically calling out Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg. “This is about a handful of the wealthiest people on earth, who in their insatiable greed, have hijacked our economy and our political system in order to enrich themselves at the expense of working families throughout this country.”
Children’s Television program host Bill Nye, also known as “Bill Nye the Science Guy,” also spoke to D.C. protestors, decrying how the Trump Administration has treated scientists, which could refer to the significant cuts that have taken place at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under new director Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
He stated, “They do not promote the progress of science. They suppress it, to the detriment of our health, well-being, and international competitiveness.”
Demonstrations were arranged throughout the nation in such a way that the majority of Americans were within an hour of a scheduled event.
Jill Ortman-Fouse, a community organizer in Silver Spring, Maryland, informed the time that the protest there had increased twice since the previous ‘No Kings’ protest last June.
A second woman who had her one-year-old son at the protest in Silver Spring during the second time the federal workers were furloughed reported to TIME she was Jewish, “grew up hating fascism, so to see it happening here is heartbreaking.”
The initial day of protest, ‘No Kings,’ in June, in which an estimated five million people participated, was very peaceful, although there were isolated fights between demonstrators and the police in various cities.
The anticipation by organizers before the protest was that Trump and his allies were going to use the protests as a political advantage to unleash the next wave of crackdown against dissent.
Republican Governor Greg Abbott of Texas announced National Guard deployments in Austin, justifying his move by what he characterized as potential threats of demonstrators linked to the “antifa-linked” movement. Accusers in the democrats there accused him of having used the Guard to scare off protesters.
According to the American Civil Liberties Union, Indivisible, MoveOn, and the American Federation of Teachers, they are making an additional effort, prioritizing de-escalation and community safety, and disseminating instructions on how to act in a non-aggressive manner in case of opposition by law enforcement or counter protesters.
ACLU’s Chief Political and Advocacy Officer, Diedre Schlifeling, said, “They might try to paint this weekend’s events as something dangerous. But the reality is, there is nothing unlawful or unsafe about organizing and attending peaceful protests. It’s the most patriotic and American thing you can do.”
Kamala Harris was also one of the leading Democrats who encouraged citizens to attend the rallies.
In a video posted to social media on Saturday, Kamala Harris, who lost to Trump in the 2024 presidential election, reported that “In our country, the power is with the people, and tomorrow I encourage everyone to get out there in peaceful protest of what is happening in our country and express our voice around the country we believe in.”
Trump has expressed little about the protests, making a fleeting comment on Friday, before departing for his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
Trump stated to Fox News, “They say they’re referring to me as a king. I’m not a king.”
Several hours before the protests, the president showed up at his golf club in West Palm Beach on Saturday morning.
Meanwhile, the protests have been criticized by top members of the Republican Party of Trump. House Speaker Mike Johnson described the demonstrations against the Trump Administration as a “Hate America rally” and asserted that it would attract the “pro-Hamas wing” of the Democratic Party and “the antifa people.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent claimed that the expected participants as “the farthest left, the hardest core, the most unhinged in the Democratic Party.”
Republican Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas proposed that the National Guard would have to appear.
During a press conference on Thursday, organizers accused Republicans of attempting to intimidate people from attending.
Leah Greenberg, co-founder of Indivisible, one of the groups that organized the protests, said, “Now they are trying to smear millions of Americans who are coming out to protest so that they can justify and crack down on peaceful dissent. It is the classic authoritarian playbook—threaten, smear, and lie—but we will not be intimidated.”
Cities across Europe have also seen their own versions of ‘No Kings’ Protests, such as in Paris, Berlin, Sweden, and Madrid.
Dutch News reports on the protest in Amsterdam, complete with posters denouncing the immigration crackdown by the Trump Administration: “I like my Democracy neat. Hold the ICE,” one poster they photograph read.
