The No Kings marches swept across America this past Saturday in what NPR is calling one of the largest single-day protests in United States history. With an estimated seven million people flooding the streets at more than 2,700 locations nationwide, these demonstrations represented the second major wave of coordinated opposition to President Trump’s policies during his current term.
According to Democracy Now, major metropolitan areas saw staggering turnouts that stretched for blocks. New York City alone recorded more than 100,000 demonstrators, with Times Square becoming one of the largest gathering points. Chicago’s protest extended across an impressive 22 blocks, while San Francisco’s demonstration sprawled over five. Washington D.C., where tensions have been particularly high given Trump’s firing of thousands of federal workers and deployment of National Guard troops, saw approximately 200,000 people take to the streets.
What made these protests remarkable was how they transcended the typical urban protest pattern. While cities like Atlanta, Boston, and Los Angeles drew massive crowds, smaller communities in both red and blue states also organized substantial demonstrations. Newsweek reported that the movement’s reach extended internationally as well, with solidarity protests occurring in the United Kingdom, Spain, and Portugal.
The central message uniting these diverse gatherings was straightforward yet powerful: America has no kings. President Trump is behaving more like a monarch than a democratically elected official, systematically testing and overstepping the boundaries of presidential power. Immigration enforcement stood at the forefront of many demonstrators’ concerns. The Trump administration’s deployment of often-masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents conducting mass detention operations struck many as militaristic and un-American. The presence of National Guard troops in Democratic-led cities like Chicago and Portland, ostensibly to protect immigration agents and combat crime, further fueled accusations of authoritarian overreach.
The ongoing government shutdown, was in its 18th day at the time of the protests, added urgency to the demonstrations. Other grievances included drastic cuts to federal education funding and environmental protections, gerrymandering efforts, rollbacks of vaccination mandates, reversals of agreements with Native tribes, and the controversial “One Big Beautiful Bill”.
What surprised many observers was the festive, family-friendly atmosphere that pervaded most demonstrations. Rather than the chaos and violence that some Republican officials had predicted, protesters transformed the day into what many described as joyful celebrations of democracy. Inspired by activists in Portland, Oregon, participants in cities including Los Angeles and Hartford donned inflatable animal costumes — frogs, dinosaurs, chickens, and even axolotls. As one Los Angeles protester in a unicorn costume told CNN, It’s hard to label something a war zone when it resembles a block party filled with people in Halloween costumes.
Yellow was the protest’s signature color, worn by demonstrators across the country as a symbol of unity and resistance. Organizers explained leading up to the protests that throughout history, people opposing authoritarian regimes have adopted distinctive colors visible in large crowds. The color choice referenced yellow umbrellas used by Hong Kong protesters and yellow ribbons symbolizing resistance to Russian aggression in Eastern Ukraine.
Revolutionary War themes appeared throughout the demonstrations, with protesters in Washington D.C. dressing in period attire to remind Americans that the nation was founded in opposition to monarchy. Some pictures of signs went viral proclaiming messages like I Pledge Allegiance to No King, The Constitution is not optional, and No kings since 1776. It is important to note that many protester’s were waiving American flags big and small alongside their protest signs, reclaiming patriotic symbolism that many felt is being taken away by President Trump.
The protests remained overwhelmingly peaceful despite Republican warnings of violence. New York City and Washington D.C., which hosted some of the largest gatherings, reported no arrests related to the demonstrations. Families with children and grandparents participated freely, with many young children dressed in costumes.
Here’s the thing, folks: The massive turnout represented more than two hundred organizations working together, including the American Civil Liberties Union, Indivisible, MoveOn, Planned Parenthood, and numerous labor unions. President Trump, who was at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, appeared irritated by the protests’ success. In a Fox News interview, he insisted, They’re referring to me as a king — I’m not a king.
With that… it is important to note that the protests represented a critical moment in defending American democracy.
If you cannot join the march, then carry its message.