Protesting the direction of the country under President Trump, people gathered in the nation’s capital and hundreds of communities large and small across the country on Saturday to take part in the latest “No Kings” demonstration, the largest yet.
The event looked like a street party in many places, with placards saying things like “There’s nothing more patriotic than protesting” and “Resist fascism.” There were marching bands, giant banners with the “We the People” preamble to the U.S. Constitution that people could sign, and demonstrators wearing inflatable costumes, especially frogs, that have emerged as symbols of resistance in Portland, Oregon.
This is the third major mobilization since President Trump returned to the White House and comes against the backdrop of a government shutdown that has not only shut down federal programs and services but also tested the core balance of power. That comes as an aggressive executive confronts Congress and the courts in a way that protest organizers warn shows a tilt toward authoritarianism.
President Trump was spending the weekend at his home in Mar-a-Lago, Florida.
“I say they call me a king. I’m not a king,” President Trump said in a Fox News interview that aired early Friday morning before departing for a $1 million-per-plate MAGA super PAC fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago.
Late Friday, the Trump campaign’s social media accounts mocked the protests by posting a computer-generated video of the president dressed like a monarch, wearing a crown and waving from a balcony.
nationwide demonstration
People packed Times Square in New York City, Boston Common and Chicago’s Grant Park. Outside the state capitols of Tennessee and Indiana and the courthouse in Billings, Tennessee. And even in hundreds of small public spaces. Organizers said more than 2,600 rallies were scheduled for the day.
Many demonstrators were furious at the attack on their motives. In Washington, Brian Layman said it was “pathetic” that Republicans had called him a terrorist all week.
“This is America. I don’t agree with their politics, but I don’t think they don’t love this country,” said Layman, who held a large American flag. “I think they’re misguided. I think they’re power hungry.”
More than 1,500 people gathered in Birmingham, Alabama, to publicly recall the city’s history of protest and the important role it played in the civil rights movement two generations ago.
“It feels like we’re living in an America we don’t know,” said Jessica Yoser, a mother of four. She and other protesters said they felt a sense of camaraderie by gathering in a state where Trump won nearly 65% of the vote in November.
“It was very encouraging,” Yoser said. “When I walked in, I thought, ‘This is my people.'”
In San Francisco, hundreds of people spelled out phrases like “No Kings” with their bodies on Ocean Beach. Demonstrators in Salt Lake City gathered outside the Utah State Capitol to share messages of hope and healing after a protester was shot and killed during the city’s first “No Kings” march in June.
Rallies were also held in major European cities, with hundreds of Americans chanting slogans and holding placards and American flags.
build a counter movement
“Large rallies like this give confidence to people who are sitting on the sidelines and are ready to speak out,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said in an interview with The Associated Press.
While protests earlier this year drew crowds – one in the spring against Elon Musk’s cuts by the White House Office of Government Criticism, known as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and one in June against President Trump’s military parade – organizers say this one is building a more unified opposition movement.
Top Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and Progressive Leader Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vermont, are joining what organizers see as an antidote to Trump’s actions, including the administration’s crackdown on free speech and military raids on immigrants in American cities.
“We’re here because we love America,” Sanders told the crowd at a stage in Washington, in a rebuttal to Republicans who characterized the large-scale demonstrations as rallies of “I hate America.”
He said American testing is “at risk” under the Trump administration, but insisted “we the people will govern.”
The “No Kings” congregation continues to grow. There were 1,300 registered locations for this spring’s national march against Trump and Musk, and 2,100 locations for the first “No King Day” in June.
Republicans condemn protests
Republicans sought to portray the protesters as far outside the mainstream of American politics, a key reason for the 18th day of demonstrations.
From the White House to the Capitol, he denigrated rally participants as “communists” and “Marxists.” They argue that Democratic leaders, including Mr. Schumer, are beholden to the far left and intend to keep the government shut down to appease liberals.
“I want you to keep an eye out for Saturday’s rally, which we’re calling the ‘Hate America’ rally,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana).
“Let’s see who comes,” Johnson said, adding that he expected attendees to include “people like Antifa,” “people who hate capitalism,” and “total Marxists.”
Many demonstrators said they responded to such exaggerations with humor, pointing out that Trump often veers into theatrics, such as when he claims that cities where he sends troops are war zones.
“So much of what we’ve seen from this administration has been so disingenuous and so stupid that we have to respond with the same energy,” said Glenn Calbaugh, a Washington, D.C., protester wearing a wizard’s hat and holding a sign with a frog on it.
The New York Police Department reported no arrests were made during the city’s protests.
Congressional Democrats are refusing to take a vote on the government reopening bill as they demand funding for health care costs put in jeopardy by big Republican spending bills passed this summer. Republicans have said they are willing to discuss the issue only after the government reopens.
But for many Democrats, the government shutdown is also a way to stand up to Trump and restore the presidency to its place as an equal government institution within the American system.
The situation could be an improvement from six months ago, when Democrats and their allies were divided and disappointed, unsure of how best to respond to President Trump’s return to the White House. Schumer, in particular, had been harshly criticized by many within his own party for allowing an earlier government funding bill to pass the Senate without being used to challenge President Trump.
“What we’re seeing from the Democratic Party is some kind of backbone,” says Ezra Levin, co-founder of Indivisible, a key organizer of the “No Kings” rallies. “The worst thing Democrats can do right now is surrender.”
Pesoli and Fields are contributors to The Associated Press. AP writers Matt Brown, Lisa Mascaro and Kevin Freeking in Washington; Jill Colvin and Joseph Frederick of New York; Jeffrey Collins of Columbia, South Carolina; Hannah Schoenbaum of Salt Lake City; Chris Megerian of West Palm Beach, Florida; Bill Barrow of Birmingham, Alabama; and Safiya Riddle in Montgomery, Alabama, contributed to this report.
