“At least eight million people gathered today at more than 3,300 events in 50 states, the No Kings organization said in a press release, according to postimees.ee.
Mass protests against President Donald Trump began Saturday across the United States and beyond, with millions of people expressing anger over what they say are his authoritarian tendencies and other harsh, law-breaking methods of governance.
This is the third time in less than a year that Americans have taken to the streets as part of the “No to Kings” movement. It is perhaps the most visible show of resistance to Trump since the start of his second term in January 2025. Now the protesters have another reason to be outraged – the war against Iran, which Trump started together with Israel and whose goals and end date are constantly changing, lrt.lt reported.
The hostility towards Trump has crossed US borders: on Saturday, rallies are also being organized in European cities, including Amsterdam, Madrid and Rome.
Protests in the U.S. began in several cities, including Atlanta, where thousands gathered in a park to denounce authoritarianism. One man held a placard during the rally that read, “We are losing our democracy.” Meanwhile, in the city of West Bloomfield, Michigan, near Detroit, people protested despite sub-zero temperatures.
And in the capital, Washington, D.C., protesters, including people carrying placards reading “Trump Must Go Now!” and “Fight Fascism,” marched across a bridge over the Potomac River to the Lincoln Memorial, the site of historic civil rights demonstrations in the past.
Record numbers are expected
The first day of national-scale “Kings No More” protests took place last June, when Trump was celebrating his 79th birthday, and coincided with a military parade he organized in Washington. At the time, several million people across the country – from New York to San Francisco – participated.
A second similar protest in October drew about 7 million protesters, according to organizers. The current goal is to draw even more people on Saturday amid Trump’s popularity rating falling below the 40 percent mark and the approaching midterm elections in November, in which Trump’s Republicans could lose control of both houses of Congress.
Just as Trump is idolized by numerous members of his “Make America Great Again” movement, he is hated with similar passion on the other side of America’s broad political spectrum.
Opponents complain about his tendency to rule by executive order, his use of the Justice Department to harass opponents, his apparent obsession with fossil fuels, and his denial of climate change. They also dislike his rollback of racial and gender diversity programs, as well as his predilection for showcasing U.S. military might, even though he portrayed himself as a man of peace during the campaign.
“Since our last march, this administration has dragged us even deeper into war,” said Naveed Shah of the Common Defense Veterans Association, which is affiliated with the “No to Kings” movement.
“At home, we have watched paramilitaries kill civilians in the streets. We’ve seen families destroyed and immigrant communities struck. All of this is being done in the name of one man trying to rule as king,” he claimed.
Bruce Springsteen in Minnesota
Organizers say more than 3,000 rallies are planned in major cities, suburbs and rural areas – even in the Arctic Circle town of Kotzebue, Alaska – with more than 3,000 rallies planned. The focus is on Minnesota, which has become a flashpoint in the national debate because of Trump’s violent crackdown on immigration.
Rock legend Bruce Springsteen, a fierce critic of the president, is scheduled to perform his song “Streets of Minneapolis” in St. Paul, the capital of this northern state. Springsteen wrote the protest ballad in just 24 hours in memory of U.S. citizens Rene Goode and Alex Pretty, who were shot and killed by federal agents during January protests against Trump’s immigration campaign.
What started as a simple day of resistance in 2025 has turned into a national “No to Kings” movement. According to organizers, two-thirds of the people planning to rally on Saturday don’t live in major cities (which in America are often Democrat strongholds) – a figure that has grown significantly since the last protest.
