Protesters out in force for anti-Trump 'No Kings' rallies across US

WASHINGTON: 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.

Organizers said seven million people attended 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 amid a legislative deadlock.

“Hey hey ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go!” said protesters, many of them carrying American flags, at least one of which was flying upside down in a signal of distress.

Colorful signs called on people to “protect democracy,” while others demanded the country abolish the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency at the center of Trump’s anti-immigrant crackdown.

Demonstrators slammed what they called the Republican billionaire’s strong-arm tactics, including attacks on the media, political opponents and undocumented immigrants.

“I never thought I would live to see the death of my country as a democracy,” 69-year-old retiree Colleen Hoffman told AFP as she marched down Broadway in New York.

“We are in a crisis — the cruelty of this regime, the authoritarianism. I just feel like I cannot sit home and do nothing.”

In Los Angeles, protesters floated a giant balloon of Trump in a diaper.

Many flew flags, with at least one referencing pirate anime hit “One Piece”, brandishing the skull logo that has recently become a staple of anti-government protests from Peru to Madagascar.

“Fight Ignorance not migrants,” read one sign at a protest in Houston, where nearly one-quarter of the population is made up of immigrants, according to the Migration Policy Institute.

It was not possible to independently verify the organizers’ attendance figures. In New York, authorities said more than 100,000 gathered at one of the largest protests, while in Washington, crowds were estimated at between 8,000 and 10,000 people.

Trump responds

Trump’s response to Saturday’s events was typically aggressive, with the US president posting a series of AI-generated videos to his Truth Social platform depicting him as a king.

In one, he is shown wearing a crown and piloting a fighter jet that drops what appears to be feces on anti-Trump protesters.

His surrogates were in fighting form, too, with House Speaker Mike Johnson deriding the rallies as being “Hate America” protests.

“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,” he told reporters.

Protesters treated that claim with ridicule.

“Look around! If this is hate, then someone should go back to grade school,” said Paolo, 63, as the crowd chanted and sang around him in Washington.

Others hinted at the deep polarization tearing apart American politics.

“Here’s the thing about what right-wingers say: I don’t give a crap. They hate us,” said Tony, a 34-year-old software engineer.

 ‘Country of equals’

Deirdre Schifeling of the American Civil Liberties Union said protesters wanted to convey that “we are a country of equals.”

“We are a country of laws that apply to everyone, of due process and of democracy. We will not be silenced,” she told reporters.

Leah Greenberg, co-founder of the Indivisible Project, slammed the Trump administration’s efforts to send National Guard troops into Democratic-led US cities, including Los Angeles, Washington, Chicago, Portland and Memphis.

“It is the classic authoritarian playbook: threaten, smear and lie, scare people into submission,” Greenberg said.

Paulo, at the Washington protest, said the current moment reminded him of growing up under a military dictatorship in Brazil.

“I have an incredible sensation of deja vu in terms of measures that are being taken in terms of law enforcement, in terms of cult of personality,” he said.

Addressing the crowd outside the US Capitol, progressive Senator Bernie Sanders warned of the dangers democracy faced under Trump.

“We have a president who wants more and more power in his own hands and in the hands of his fellow oligarchs,” he said, the mention of “oligarchs” eliciting loud boos from the crowd.

Isaac Harder, 16, said he feared for his generation’s future.

“They’re destroying democracy. They’re cracking down on peaceful protests and sending the military to American cities. They’re arresting political opponents and deporting people without due process.

“It’s a fascist trajectory. And I want to do anything I can to stop that.”