‘No Kings’ protests against Trump bring a street party vibe to cities nationwide

WASHINGTON — Protesting the direction of the country under President Trump, people gathered Saturday in the nation’s capital and hundreds of communities big and small across the U.S. for the latest round of “No Kings ” demonstrations, the largest to date.

With signs such as “Nothing is more patriotic than protesting” and “Resist Fascism,” the events looked more like a street party in many places. There were marching bands, a huge banner with the U.S. Constitution’s “We the People” preamble that people could sign, and demonstrators wearing inflatable costumes, particularly frogs, which have emerged as a sign of resistance in Portland, Ore.

It was the third mass mobilization since Trump’s return to the White House and came against the backdrop of a government shutdown that not only has closed federal programs and services but is also testing the core balance of power, as an aggressive executive confronts Congress and the courts in ways that protest organizers warn indicate a slide toward authoritarianism.

Trump was spending the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.

“They say they’re referring to me as a king. I’m not a king,” Trump said in a Fox News interview airing early Friday, before he departed for a $1-million-per-plate MAGA Inc. super PAC fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago.

Later Friday, a Trump campaign social media account mocked the protests by posting a computer-generated video of the president clothed like a monarch, wearing a crown and waving from a balcony.

Nationwide demonstrations

People packed into New York City’s Times Square, Boston Common and Chicago’s Grant Park; outside state capitols in Tennessee and Indiana and a courthouse in Billings, Mont.; and at hundreds of smaller public spaces. More than 2,700 rallies were planned on the day, organizers said.

Many protesters were angered by attacks on their motives. In Washington, Brian Reymann said being called a terrorist all week by Republicans was “pathetic.”

“This is America. I disagree with their politics, but I don’t believe that they don’t love this country,” Reymann said, carrying a large U.S. flag. “I believe they are misguided. I think they are power-hungry.”

More than 1,500 people gathered in Birmingham, Ala., evoking and openly citing the city’s history of protests and the critical role it played in the civil rights movement two generations ago.

“It just feels like we’re living in an America that I don’t recognize,” said Jessica Yother, a mother of four. She and other protesters said they felt camaraderie by gathering in a state where Trump won nearly 65% of the vote in November.

“It was so encouraging,” Yother said. “I walked in and thought, ‘Here are my people.’”

In San Francisco, hundreds of people spelled out “No Kings” and other phrases with their bodies on Ocean Beach. Salt Lake City demonstrators gathered outside the Utah State Capitol to share messages of hope and healing after a protester was fatally shot during the city’s first “No Kings” march in June.

Rallies were also held in major European cities, where gatherings of a few hundred Americans chanted slogans and held signs and U.S. flags.

Building an opposition movement

“Big rallies like this give confidence to people who have been sitting on the sidelines but are ready to speak up,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said in an interview with the Associated Press.

While the earlier protests this year — against Elon Musk’s cuts in the spring by his White House government-slashing team known as the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, then to counter Trump’s military parade in June — drew crowds, organizers say this one is building a more unified opposition movement.

Top Democrats such as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and progressive leader Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) are joining in what organizers view as an antidote to Trump’s actions, including the administration’s clampdown on free speech and its military-style immigration raids in American cities.

“We’re here because we love America,” Sanders said, addressing the crowd from a stage in Washington, a retort to Republicans casting the mass demonstrations as “Hate America” rallies.

He said the American experiment is “in danger” under Trump, but insisted, “We the people will rule.”

The “No Kings” rallies have continued to grow. The national march against Trump and Musk this spring had 1,300 registered locations, while the first “No Kings” day in June registered 2,100.

Republicans denounce protests

Republicans sought to portray the protesters as far outside the mainstream of American politics, and a main reason for the prolonged government shutdown, which was in its 18th day.

From the White House to Capitol Hill, GOP leaders disparaged the rallygoers as “communists” and “Marxists.” They say Democratic leaders including Schumer are beholden to the far-left flank and willing to keep the government shut down to appease those liberal forces.

“I encourage you to watch — we call it the ‘Hate America’ rally — that will happen Saturday,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).

“Let’s see who shows up for that,” Johnson said, saying he expected attendees to include “antifa types,” people who “hate capitalism” and “Marxists in full display.”

Many demonstrators, in response, said they were meeting such hyperbole with humor, noting that Trump often leans heavily on theatrics such as claiming that cities he sends troops to are war zones.

“So much of what we’ve seen from this administration has been so unserious and silly that we have to respond with the same energy,” said Glen Kalbaugh, a Washington, D.C., protester who wore a wizard hat and held a sign with a frog on it.

New York police reported no arrests during the city’s protests.

Democrats try to regain their footing

Democrats in Congress have refused to vote on legislation that would reopen the government as they demand funding for healthcare, which has been imperiled by the massive GOP spending bill passed this summer. Republicans say they are willing to discuss the issue only after the government reopens.

But for many Democrats, the government closure is also a way to stand up to Trump and try to push the presidency back to its place in the U.S. system as a coequal branch of government.

The situation is a potential turnaround from six months ago, when Democrats and their allies were divided and despondent, unsure about how best to respond to Trump’s return to the White House. Schumer in particular was sharply criticized by many in his party for allowing an earlier government funding bill to sail through the Senate without using it to challenge Trump.

“What we are seeing from the Democrats is some spine,” said Ezra Levin, a co-founder of Indivisible, a key organizer of the “No Kings” rallies. “The worst thing the Democrats could do right now is surrender.”

Pesoli and Fields write for the Associated Press. AP writers Matt Brown, Lisa Mascaro and Kevin Freking in Washington; Jill Colvin and Joseph Frederick in New York; Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, S.C.; Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City; Chris Megerian in West Palm Beach, Fla.; Bill Barrow in Birmingham, Ala.; and Safiya Riddle in Montgomery, Ala., contributed to this report.