Hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated this Saturday in the United States to protest what they consider an authoritarian drift of the . The rallies called under the motto “No Kings“, (no kings, in English) refer to the principle that the nation does not have kings to subject it. The organizers seek to channel social discontent against the policies of the Republican president, which was already visible in the first act of this movement held last June.
On this occasion, the most important protests have occurred in the country’s large cities such as New York, Chicago, Houston, Seattle, Los Angeles and Philadelphia. In Washington DC, tens of thousands of people have gathered in front of the United States Capitol. The image of the peaceful protest in the capital has contrasted with what occurred four years ago when an American was dissatisfied with the result of the elections that the Republican lost in November 2019.
Brian Lee, a retired military man in his 70s, holds up a banner that reads: “My father didn’t fight in a B-52 over Europe for this.” Lee, who lives in York, Pennsylvania, explains that these times with Trump in power remind him of what happened in the 1930s. “It’s present in all his speeches and reflects what happened in the 1930s, not only in Germany, but also in Spain. It’s terrifying and we have to stop it, because it hasn’t even been a year, and I’m terrified to think where we will be in another three, so it’s fine what this demonstration is for.”
The demonstrations coincide with the partial government shutdown, the layoff of thousands of federal workers, raids on immigrants and Democrats. Trump has also tried to impose his power on the Federal Reserve, attacking its president and accusing, without evidence, one of the governors, to try to fire her. He has attacked the media and journalists. and has even restricted press access to the Pentagon.
In the almost 300 days that Trump has been in power, in his second term in the White House, he has shown that he is determined to impose his political agenda without stopping at any obstacle. The Republican has threatened to withdraw federal funds from Democratic states and cities if they do not support him. The courts have emerged as the last wall containing Trump’s power. But the Republican controls the Constitutional Court, which until now is endorsing all his decisions.
“We come together to demand that our representatives take a stand against Trump’s executive excesses to limit his power and to help us finally overthrow the regime and restore democracy before it is too late,” said Hunter Dunn, spokesperson for the No Kings coalition.
The protests have spread to more than 2,600 cities throughout the country. Organizers have also held rallies in numerous small cities in each of the 50 states. Top leaders of the Democratic Party have participated in the protests. The day has served to give some encouragement to progressives, who are unable to find the tone or voice to confront Trump, and to demonstrate the strength of civil society in a very polarized country, in which citizens are distancing themselves from politics.
The organizers have explained that the protests aim to preserve the principles on which the United States was founded with resistance to an authoritarian regime, in reference to the British King George III, who exercised his power over the colonies in the 18th century, a time when the independence of the United States occurred.
Organizers have emphasized that protests be peaceful and protesters reject violence. In recent weeks they have even organized de-escalation courses to provide training in peaceful protests.
Trumpism has shown a virulent reaction. Republicans have described the rallies as a “manifestation of hatred against the United States” without understanding that the protests are legitimate in a democratic state. “I bet you’ll see Hamas sympathizers, I bet you’ll see members of Antifa, I bet you’ll see Marxists demonstrating, people who don’t want to stand up and defend the fundamental truths of this republic,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said last week in an interview on the conservative Fox News channel. Even one of the more moderate members of Trump’s Cabinet, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, threatened: “You know, ‘no kings’, no paychecks. Without paychecks, no government.”
Republicans have also blamed protesters for the shutdown of the federal government, which has been partially paralyzed for 18 days due to the lack of agreement between Republicans and Democrats to extend a budget. Trump is trying to lay off thousands of federal workers and cut funding to Democrat-controlled institutions.
Just a month ago, the president summoned the senior staff of his army to ask them to be prepared for “the internal invasion” in the United States. “We find ourselves under . It’s no different than that of an external enemy, but more difficult, in many ways, because they don’t wear uniforms,” he told the generals. It’s not just Trump. His close team of collaborators has also sent disturbing messages. His Secretary of Defense, Pete Begseth, has been one of the most belligerent voices. He has limited the access of journalists who cover the Pentagon, whom he considers “a threat to security” in case they publish information without the approval of the military authorities. The major media in the United States have rejected the pressure and have avoided signing the document with the new conditions for access to the Pentagon that Hegseth wants to impose.
Preserve power and perpetuate yourself. Trump has flirted with running for a third term, something that is not contemplated by the Constitution. He has asked Republican governors to redefine electoral areas so that they are favored in the midterm elections that must be held next year.
