Large crowds of protesters gathered in cities across the nation on Saturday to condemn a president they view as acting like a king, part of a daylong mass demonstration against the Trump administration.
By noon, a massive crowd had flooded Times Square in New York amid a carnival-like atmosphere with colorful signs, one that announced “I Pledge Allegiance to No King.” Protesters sported costumes, including the inflatable frog ensemble that activists in Portland, Ore., began wearing to poke fun at the White House’s attempt to portray activists as anarchists or domestic terrorists.
“No more Trump!” the crowd chanted as they waved American flags.
“We’ve got to speak up for our rights, especially if we’re lucky enough to be citizens,” said Bianca Diaz whose 6-year-old daughter, Luna, came dressed as an axolotl, a kind of salamander. “I wanted her to witness this,” Ms. Diaz said.
Known as No Kings Day, the events are building off a previous demonstration in June that had considerable turnouts at roughly 2,000 rallies in all 50 states. This time, about 600 additional protests were scheduled to take place, a majority of those in rural areas, organizers said. The rallies come even as Mr. Trump’s approval ratings at the polls have not changed significantly.
Ms. Diaz, 39, said she heard about the demonstration on TikTok and knew immediately that she would attend. A claims adjuster employed by the federal government, she has not been paid since the government shutdown, but said she supports the position of Democratic politicians who are pushing to keep lower health care costs.
A mass protest, she said, could be encouraging to leaders pursuing that goal.
In Atlanta, thousands arrived at a downtown parking lot where the mood was mellow, but attendees expressed frustration over the tactics of the Trump administration.
Among them was Catherine Browning, a British national who wore a bright green frog onesie.
“I really felt I needed to be here today because so many horrible things are happening to so many people,” she added, citing actions by federal immigration agents that are “dehumanizing people.”
Ms. Browning, 55, said she now carries her green card with her and that she hasn’t applied for citizenship out of fear that she could be arrested at immigration court and deported. She said she worries about being separated from her husband and son, who are American.
Some 350 miles north in Madison County, Ky., where President Trump has handily won the past three general elections, protesters lined the sidewalk outside the local courthouse. A few drivers in passing cars jeered and shouted pro-Trump declarations, but others appeared to honk in support.
“This is what democracy looks like!” protesters chanted, led by a woman in a megaphone. “No kings, no kings, no kings in America!”
Organizers said the crowds were fueled by President Trump’s actions in recent months, including his role in the government shutdown, his attacks on higher education, the pressure he has placed on the Justice Department to prosecute political enemies, immigration raids, federal troops in cities and the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill.
“We are seeing a difference in the understanding of the general public, that this is a marathon,” said Hunter Dunn of 50501, a progressive group that has helped organize the rallies.
The protests attracted diverse crowds in many cities, and many had an upbeat and festive air, with music blaring from speakers.
At Grant Park in Chicago, Marilyn Ricken, 80, arrived with three friends, two of whom relied on walkers to move around.
Ms. Ricken, a retired insurance agent, had been at the No Kings rally in June but said Saturday’s event came with more of a sense of urgency. She said it was crucial to show they were on “the right side of history.”
“This is how change happens,” she said as nearby protesters signed their name at the bottom of a large replica of the U.S. Constitution.
In a show of solidarity, protesters in other countries held demonstrations outside U.S. embassies, consulates or at town squares.
In Paris, protesters held placards denouncing President Trump. In Germany, rallies were planned in four different cities, including one outside the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. In countries with long-established monarchies, like Britain and Spain, protesters gathered under the slogan “No Tyrants.”
The forcefulness of Mr. Trump’s second term may have galvanized protesters, said Jeremy Pressman, a political science professor who co-directs the Crowd Counting Consortium, a joint project of the Harvard Kennedy School and the University of Connecticut.
“The intensity of the action is going to feed into the intensity of the counteraction or counterprotest,” he said.
The last No Kings Day, in June, was one of the largest single days of protest in U.S. history, Mr. Pressman said, adding that an analysis showed that protest events now occur across a wider range of counties — including those where a majority voted Republican — than during Mr. Trump’s first term.
The organizers, which include national and local groups and well-known progressive groups like Indivisible and MoveOn, say that previous demonstrations helped get the word out, and that they have received public support from an array of celebrities, including the actor Robert De Niro.
“We’re rising up again this time, nonviolently raising our voices to declare: No kings,” Mr. De Niro said in a video.
The phrase is a reference to King George III, who exerted his power over the American colonies that sought freedom. The coalition behind No Kings contends that Mr. Trump is overseeing a similar authoritarian government. The core principle of the protests is nonviolence, the groups said.
At the June event, however, a protest in Salt Lake City ended in chaos when a protester was fatally shot during a march. A member of the organizer’s “peacekeeping” team had been aiming at another man who was armed and appeared to be a threat.
Protesters who arrived to the state capitol on Saturday said the shooting motivated them to attend.
“I want my kids to have a better government,” said Allie Burton, 40, who said Mr. Trump was eroding the rights of Americans, especially those of women.
She took issue with Republican leaders’ efforts to cast the No Kings movement as unpatriotic. “They’re trying to split us up,” she said.
Republican leaders have denounced the demonstration, blamed it for prolonging the government shutdown and called it the “hate America rally.” They have also said, without evidence, that protesters are being paid to show up.
“It’s all the pro-Hamas wing and, you know, the antifa people,” Mike Johnson, the House speaker, said last week on Fox News. “They’re all coming out.”
When asked if the president had a comment on the protests, Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman, gave a brief response. “Who cares?” she said.
Protesters who showed up in red states said they felt a responsibility to announce their presence.
“You feel like your voice isn’t that loud,” said Michael Flanagan, 46, who attended a rally in Memphis. “But I’ve never seen this level of enthusiasm.”
When the National Guard was deployed in Memphis two weeks ago, Mr. Flanagan, a medical administrator, said his frustration with the Trump administration felt atypical. Joining the No Kings protest, he said, made him feel less alone.
“For me to come out, a normal, small person like me, and see all of this, it’s really great,” he said.
Sean Keenan contributed reporting from Atlanta, Nate Schweber from New York and Tricia Fulks Kelleyfrom Richmond, Ky.,Benjamin Wood from Salt Lake City,Ben Stanley from Memphis, Robert Chiarito from Chicago, Tyler Pager from Washington, and Lynsey Chutel from London
Corina Knoll is a Times correspondent focusing on feature stories.
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