Protesters Denouncing Trump Unite Across the Country
"Demonstrators were expected to rally in more than 2,600 cities and towns for ‘No Kings’ events.
Thousands of protesters gathered in cities and towns 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 large 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.
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, said Eunic Epstein-Ortiz, the national spokeswoman for the coalition behind the event.
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.
In Madison County, Ky., where President Trump has handily won the past three general elections, protesters lined the sidewalk outside the local courthouse. As drivers in passing cars jeered and shouted pro-Trump declarations, demonstrators waved signs and American flags.
Organizers say the crowds are 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.“I think that this is going to be a stronger push than the last one,” said Hunter Dunn of 50501, a progressive group that has helped organize the event.
“I’m seeing more of an emphasis on the understanding that this is not just a sprint,” he added, where there is a mass mobilization and then everyone goes home and Mr. Trump’s agenda is defeated. “We are seeing a difference in the understanding of the general public, that this is a marathon.”
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, and organizers are said to be trained in de-escalation.
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.”
Scott Bessent, the Treasury secretary, said on Fox Business: “You know, ‘no kings’ means no paychecks. No paychecks and no government.”
The previous event was held on the day of a military parade in Washington for the Army’s 250th anniversary. It was also Mr. Trump’s 79th birthday.
Sean Keenan contributed reporting from Atlanta, Nate Schweber from New York and Tricia Fulks Kelley from Madison County, Ky."
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