New “No Kings” march denounces president’s attempted “coronation”
Republicans condemn delaying tactics amid government shutdown and an exercise in "hatred against America"
Millions of protesters took to the streets of major US cities this Saturday to protest the authoritarianism and policies of President Donald Trump, organized by the No Kings movement.
More than 2,700 rallies and demonstrations have been recorded across the US and also outside the country, in cities such as London, Paris, Rome, and Madrid, supported by civil society organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the American Federation of Teachers, 50501, the Human Rights Campaign, Indivisible, and MoveOn.
One of the main demonstrations was in Washington, D.C. , in which scientist and talk show host Bill Nye compared this mobilization to the anti-Vietnam War protests. “We’re protesting the same way today. Only today the stakes are higher. Instead of abandoning a war against an elusive, sometimes perhaps imaginary, enemy, we face the possible end of our republic,” he denounced, according to ABC News.
Nye called on members of Congress to “stop the abuses of this petulant president and his circle of sycophants.” “No to thrones. No to crowns. No to kings,” he emphasized.
The organizers hope these will be the largest protests against what they describe as the authoritarian drift being established in the country by the second Trump administration, whose supporters have condemned it as a manifestation of “hatred against America” ​​and a new Democratic obstruction in the midst of a government shutdown.
Another speaker was Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders, who warned that Trump and billionaires like Elon Musk are endangering self-government. “It’s a danger to have a president who wants more and more power in his hands and in the hands of his other oligarchs,” he denounced.
Sanders criticized the militarization of cities, the persecution of immigrants, the intimidation of the media, and the revenge against political rivals, which he attributes to Trump.
Another attendee at the march in Washington was Democratic Senator Adam Schiff, who recalled one of the banners. “Silence is complicit. We cannot remain silent in the face of the increasing militarization of our cities, the abuses of the Department of Justice, and the dismantling of science,” he stated. “People have to speak out. It’s wonderful that millions of people across the country are speaking out today,” he emphasized.
The protest also aligns with Trump’s immigration deportation policy, which has prompted community mobilization in cities like Minneapolis. “Whether you have documentation or not. Wherever you come from, your ethnicity or origin, your religion… we love you in Minneapolis. We welcome you and we oppose Trump’s hateful policy,” said the city’s mayor, Jacob Frey, in a statement to CNN.
YELLOW COLOR
Organizers have recommended that protesters wear yellow, chosen for its symbolic affinity with the 2019 pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. “With this color, we align ourselves with a historical context: an optimistic and visible symbol that carries the weight of democratic struggle and nonviolent dissent,” they explain on their website, “and a reminder that power must emanate from the people, not from crowns.”
The main march, as was the case in the first edition in June, took place in Washington, D.C., currently under the deployment of a National Guard contingent to, according to the White House, contain crime in the nation’s capital. For his critics, this is yet another episode of his effort to consolidate his power through intimidation and silence the dissident population.
There have also been major mobilizations in Chicago, Denver, New York, and Atlanta, and protests are beginning in the Midwest and the Pacific coast, where they are beginning to be known as No Kings 2.
In June, organizers estimated that five million people participated in that day of protests, but they anticipate an even larger turnout this weekend, with particularly significant marches in New York, San Francisco, Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, Kansas City, and Honolulu, which have spread internationally to rallies in London, Paris, Frankfurt, and, in Spain, demonstrations in Madrid (Puerta del Sol), Barcelona (Plaza de Sant Jaume), Seville (Plaza Nueva – Monumento a San Fernando), and Malaga (Plaza de la Marina).
