Anti-Trump protesters out in force for ‘No Kings’ rallies across US
Over 2,600 demonstrations are planned, with top Democrats including Chuck Schumer and Bernie Sanders joining in
Huge crowds took to the streets in all 50 US states at “No Kings” protests on Saturday, venting anger over President Donald Trump’s hardline policies, while Republicans ridiculed them as “Hate America” rallies.
Organisers said seven million people marched in protests spanning New York to Los Angeles, with demonstrations popping up in small cities across the US heartland and even near Trump’s home in Florida.
“This is what democracy looks like!” chanted thousands in Washington near the US Capitol, where the federal government was shut down for a third week because of a legislative deadlock.
Demonstrators carried signs with such messages as “Nothing is more patriotic than protesting” or “Resist Fascism”, and in many places the events looked more like a street party.
There were marching bands, a huge banner with the US 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, Oregon.
It was the third mass mobilisation since Trump’s return to the White House and came against the backdrop of a government shutdown that not only has closed federal programmes and services but is testing the core balance of power, as an aggressive executive confronts Congress and the courts in ways that protest organisers warn are a slide towards authoritarianism.
Trump himself was spending the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.