Coast-to-Coast ‘No Kings’ Protests Challenge Trump’s Power Grab in Second Term

The United States braces for an unprecedented wave of protests under the "No Kings" banner, with over 2,700 demonstrations planned from New York to San Francisco, small towns to major cities, and even near President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. Organized by a coalition of nearly 300 advocacy groups, these rallies aim to channel public outrage against what critics call Trump’s authoritarian overreach in his second term, which began in January 2025. The movement, expecting millions to participate, follows a historic June 14 mobilization that saw five million protesters decry Trump’s deployment of troops to Los Angeles, a move branded as dictatorial.

The "No Kings" coalition asserts on its website: “The president thinks his rule is absolute. But in America, we don’t have kings and we won’t back down against chaos, corruption, and cruelty.” The protests target Trump’s expanded National Guard deployments to U.S. cities, his aggressive policies against undocumented migrants, and the ongoing federal government shutdown—now in its third week—marked by the dismissal of thousands of federal workers. The shutdown, with no resolution in sight, has deepened public frustration, amplifying the stakes for Saturday’s demonstrations, which could rival June’s record as the largest single-day protest in U.S. history.

Trump’s actions, including his June pledge of “very big force” to quell disruptions during a Washington, D.C., army parade, have drawn sharp criticism. Leah Greenberg, co-founder of the Indivisible Project, condemned the administration’s tactics as “the classic authoritarian playbook: threaten, smear and lie, scare people into submission.” Deirdre Schifeling of the American Civil Liberties Union emphasized the rallies’ core message: “We are a country of equals... of laws that apply to everyone, of due process and of democracy. We will not be silenced.” Actor Robert De Niro, a vocal Trump critic, urged participation, declaring, “We’ve had two and a half centuries of democracy... Now we have a would-be king who wants to take it away: King Donald the First. We’re rising up again... No kings.”

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Trump downplayed the protests, telling Fox News, “They’re saying they’re referring to me as a king. I’m not a king.” However, Republican allies have struck a defiant tone. House Speaker Mike Johnson labeled the events a “Hate America rally,” alleging they unite “Marxists, Socialists, Antifa advocates, anarchists, and the pro-Hamas wing of the far-left Democrat Party.” Congressman Tom Emmer echoed this, calling participants the “terrorist wing” of the Democrats. In response, Democratic Congressman Glenn Ivey, who will join protests in Maryland, rejected the “hate” label, arguing the rallies are a “strong counter-push” to policies “undermining the country, destroying the rule of law and undermining our democracy.”

Spanning all 50 states and extending to Canada, the protests underscore a nation deeply divided less than a year into Trump’s second term. From Washington to New Orleans, and even rural communities, the "No Kings" movement seeks to reaffirm democratic principles through nonviolent resistance, signaling a resolute stand against perceived threats to America’s foundational values.

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