The Japan Times - Crowds protest against Trump across US on 'No Kings' day

It is the third time in less than a year that Americans have taken to the streets as part of a grassroots movement called "No Kings," the most vocal and visual conduit for opposition to Trump since he began his second term in January 2025.

Organizers say they expect millions to flood the streets of big cities and small towns, demonstrating against everything from immigration raids and high consumer pricing to the war against Iran that Trump launched alongside Israel.

In New York, America's most populous city, tens of thousands of demonstrators rallied, including Oscar-winning actor Robert De Niro, a frequent Trump critic, who called the president "an existential threat to our freedoms and security."

Protests unfolded from Atlanta to San Diego, with Alaskans due to join the mix later in the day.

"No country can govern without the consent of the people," 36-year-old military veteran Marc McCaughey told AFP in Atlanta, where thousands turned out.

"We're out here because we feel that the Constitution is under threat in a multitude of different ways. Things aren't normal. They aren't okay."

In the Michigan town of West Bloomfield, near Detroit, people braved below-freezing temperatures to protest.

And in the US capital Washington, thousands of marchers -- some carrying banners that blared "Trump Must Go Now!" and "Fight Fascism" -- flocked to the National Mall.

"He keeps lying and lying and lying and lying, and no one says anything. So it's a terrible situation we're in," 67-year-old retiree Robert Pavosevich told AFP.

Trump himself was in Florida for the weekend.

The anti-Trump mood has spilled beyond US borders, with rallies Saturday in European cities including Amsterdam, Madrid and Rome, where 20,000 people marched under a heavy police presence.

- Record numbers expected -

The first "No Kings" nationwide protest day came last June on Trump's 79th birthday and coincided with a military parade he organized in Washington. Several million people turned out, from New York to San Francisco.

The second such protest, in October, drew an estimated seven million protesters, according to organizers.

The goal is to bring out even more people Saturday, as Trump's approval rating sinks below 40 percent and midterm elections loom in November, with Trump's Republicans at risk of losing control of both chambers of Congress.

Just as Trump is worshipped by many in his "Make America Great Again" movement, he is disliked with equal passion on the other side of America's wide political chasm.

Foes bemoan his penchant for ruling by executive decree, his use of the Justice Department to prosecute opponents, his apparent obsession with fossil fuels and climate change denial.

They also dislike his gutting of racial and gender diversity programs, and his taste for flexing US military power after campaigning as a man of peace.

"Since the last time we marched, this administration has dragged us deeper into war," said Naveed Shah of Common Defense, a veterans' association connected to the "No Kings" movement.

"At home, we've watched citizens killed in the streets by militarized forces. We've seen families torn apart and immigrant communities targeted. All of it done in the name of one man trying to rule like a king."

- Springsteen in Minnesota -

Organizers say more than 3,000 rallies are planned, in major cities, suburbs and rural areas -- even in the Alaskan town of Kotzebue, above the Arctic circle.

Minnesota is a key focal point, months after becoming ground zero for the national debate over Trump's violent immigration crackdown.

Legendary rocker Bruce Springsteen, a fierce critic of the president, performed his song "Streets of Minneapolis" in the twin city of St. Paul, the capital of the northern state, where thousands gathered.

Springsteen wrote and recorded the protest ballad in just 24 hours in memory of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, two US citizens shot dead by federal agents during January protests against Trump's immigration offensive.

"Their bravery, their sacrifice and their names will not be forgotten," he said Saturday before breaking into song.

What began in 2025 as a simple day of defiance has mushroomed into a "No Kings" movement of national resistance to Trump.

Organizers say two-thirds of those who plan to rally Saturday do not live in big cities, which in America are often Democratic strongholds -- a data point that is up sharply since the last protest.

K.Inoue--JT