Millions of Americans marched across all 50 states on Saturday in massive “No Kings” rallies to protest against President Donald Trump’s leadership and policies.
Organisers claimed that more than seven million people took part in the demonstrations, from New York to Los Angeles, and even near Trump’s home in Florida. Protesters accused the president of acting like a dictator and undermining democracy.
“This is what democracy looks like!” chanted thousands of people near the US Capitol in Washington, where the federal government remains shut down for a third week due to a political deadlock.
Many protesters carried signs reading “Protect Democracy” and “Fight Ignorance, Not Migrants.” Others called for the abolition of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, which has been at the centre of Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration.
“I never thought I would live to see the death of my country as a democracy. We are in a crisis — the cruelty of this regime, the authoritarianism. I just feel like I cannot sit home and do nothing,” said 69-year-old retiree Colleen Hoffman, who joined the protest in New York.
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In Los Angeles, a huge balloon of Trump in a diaper floated over the crowd, while in Houston, where immigrants make up nearly one-quarter of the population, protesters carried flags and creative placards.
Although most of the protests were peaceful, police in downtown Los Angeles used tear gas and nonlethal rounds late in the evening to disperse some agitators.
“After thousands gathered peacefully earlier in the day, nearly a hundred agitators marched over to Aliso and Alameda. A dispersal order was issued, and the demonstrators were dispersed from the area,” the LAPD Central Division posted on X.
Authorities in New York said more than 100,000 people attended one of the largest rallies, while Washington saw between 8,000 and 10,000 demonstrators.
President Trump responded on his Truth Social platform with a series of AI-generated videos portraying himself as a king — including one showing him dropping waste on protesters from a fighter jet.
House Speaker Mike Johnson mocked the rallies, calling them “Hate America protests.” He said, “You’re going to bring together the Marxists, the Socialists, the Antifa advocates, the anarchists and the pro-Hamas wing of the far-left Democrat Party.”
Protesters dismissed his comments.
“Look around! If this is hate, then someone should go back to grade school,” said Paolo, 63, while chanting with fellow demonstrators in Washington.
Deirdre Schifeling of the American Civil Liberties Union said the protests were about equality and justice.
“We are a country of laws that apply to everyone, of due process, and of democracy. We will not be silenced,” she said.
Leah Greenberg, co-founder of the Indivisible Project, condemned Trump’s efforts to deploy National Guard troops to Democratic-led cities.
“It’s the classic authoritarian playbook: threaten, smear, and lie to scare people into submission,” she said.
Speaking to the crowd in Washington, Senator Bernie Sanders warned that democracy was in danger.
“We have a president who wants more and more power in his own hands and in the hands of his fellow oligarchs,” he said.
For 16-year-old Isaac Harder, the protest was personal.
“It’s a fascist trajectory. And I want to do anything I can to stop that,” he said.