Journalism of Courage
Thousands of people are expected to gather across the United States on Saturday for nationwide “No Kings” protests against the direction of the country under US President Donald Trump, according to multiple reports.
The demonstrations, planned in Washington, DC, and more than 2,600 locations nationwide, mark the third large mobilisation since Trump returned to the White House and are expected to be the biggest so far. Organisers say the rallies aim to highlight what they view as a threat to democracy amid the ongoing government shutdown, now in its 18th day.
Trump, who is spending the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida, rejected suggestions that he was acting like a monarch. “They say they’re referring to me as a king. I’m not a king,” Trump said in a Fox News interview aired Friday before leaving for a political fundraiser at his private club.
The protests are backed by several Democratic leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Independent Senator Bernie Sanders, who are framing the movement as a stand for constitutional values and civil liberties.
“There is no greater threat to an authoritarian regime than patriotic people-power,” said Ezra Levin, co-founder of Indivisible, one of the groups organising the events.
Republican officials have criticised the rallies, calling them “Hate America” protests. House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Friday, “I encourage you to watch we call it the Hate America rally that will happen Saturday,” adding that the events would feature “antifa types,” people who “hate capitalism,” and “Marxists in full display.”
Democrats rejected that description. In a Facebook post, Sanders wrote: “It’s a love America rally. It’s a rally of millions of people all over this country who believe in our Constitution, who believe in American freedom and are not going to let you and Donald Trump turn this country into an authoritarian society.”
Some Democrats see the government shutdown as an opportunity to push back against what they consider an overreach of presidential power. “What’s hateful is what happened on January 6th,” said House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, referring to the 2021 Capitol attack. “What you’ll see this weekend is what patriotism looks like people showing up to express opposition to the extremism that Donald Trump has been unleashing on the American people.”
The movement has grown rapidly. Earlier protests this year had 1,300 registered locations in April and 2,100 in June, compared to more than 2,600 for Saturday’s march.
“What we are seeing from the Democrats is some spine,” Levin said. “The worst thing the Democrats could do right now is surrender.”
