'No Kings' protests against Trump bring a street party vibe to cities nationwide
Washington (AP): Large crowds of protesters marched and rallied in cities across the US Saturday for "No Kings" demonstrations decrying what participants see as the government's swift drift into authoritarianism under President Donald Trump.
People carrying signs with slogans such as "Nothing is more patriotic than protesting" or "Resist Fascism" packed into New York City's Times Square and rallied by the thousands in parks in Boston, Atlanta and Chicago. Demonstrators marched through Washington and downtown Los Angeles and picketed outside capitols in several Republican-led states, a courthouse in Billings, Montana, and at hundreds of smaller public spaces.
Trump's Republican Party disparaged the demonstrations as "Hate America" rallies, but in many places the events looked more like a street party. There were marching bands, a huge banner with the US Constitution's "We The People" preamble that people could sign, and demonstrators wearing inflatable costumes, particularly frogs, which have emerged as a sign of resistance in Portland, Oregon.
It was the third mass mobilisation since Trump's return to the White House and came against the backdrop of a government shutdown that not only has closed federal programmes and services but is testing the core balance of power, as an aggressive executive confronts Congress and the courts in ways that protest organisers warn are a slide toward authoritarianism.
In Washington, Iraq War Marine veteran Shawn Howard said he had never participated in a protest before but was motivated to show up because of what he sees as the Trump administration's "disregard for the law." He said immigration detentions without due process and deployments of troops in US cities are "un-American" and alarming signs of eroding democracy.
"I fought for freedom and against this kind of extremism abroad," said Howard, who added that he also worked at the CIA for 20 years on counter-extremism operations. "And now I see a moment in America where we have extremists everywhere who are, in my opinion, pushing us to some kind of civil conflict."
Trump, meanwhile, was spending the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.
"They say they're referring to me as a king. I'm not a king," the president said in a Fox News interview that aired early on Friday, before he departed for a $1 million-per-plate MAGA Inc fundraiser at his club.
Later that day, a Trump campaign social media account mocked the protests by posting a computer-generated video of the president clothed like a monarch, wearing a crown and waving from a balcony.
Nationwide demonstrations
In San Francisco hundreds of people spelled out "No King!" and other phrases with their bodies on Ocean Beach. Hayley Wingard, who was dressed as the Statue of Liberty, said she too had never been to a protest before. Only recently she began to view Trump as a "dictator."
"I was actually OK with everything until I found that the military invasion in Los Angeles and Chicago and Portland -- Portland bothered me the most, because I'm from Portland, and I don't want the military in my cities. That's scary," Wingard said.
Salt Lake City demonstrators gathered outside the Utah State Capitol to share messages of hope and healing after a protester was fatally shot during the city's first "No Kings" march in June.
And more than 1,500 people gathered in Birmingham, Alabama, evoking and the city's history of protests and the critical role it played in the Civil Rights Movement two generations ago.
"It just feels like we're living in an America that I don't recognise," said Jessica Yother, a mother of four. She and other protesters said they felt camaraderie by gathering in a state where Trump won nearly 65 per cent of the vote last November.
"It was so encouraging," Yother said. "I walked in and thought, Here are my people."
Organisers hope to build opposition movement
"Big rallies like this give confidence to people who have been sitting on the sidelines but are ready to speak up," Democratic US Senator Chris Murphy said in an interview with The Associated Press.
While protests earlier this year -- against Elon Musk's cuts and Trump's military parade -- drew crowds, organisers say this one is uniting the opposition. Top Democrats such as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Independent Senator Bernie Sanders are joining what organisers view as an antidote to Trump's actions, from the administration's clampdown on free speech to its military-style immigration raids.
More than 2,600 rallies were planned on Saturday, organisers said. The national march against Trump and Musk this spring had 1,300 registered locations, while the first "No Kings" day in June registered 2,100.
"We're here because we love America," Sanders said, addressing the crowd from a stage in Washington. He said the American experiment is "in danger" under Trump but insisted, "We the people will rule."
Republican critics denounce the demonstrations
Republicans sought to portray protesters as far outside the mainstream and a prime reason for the government shutdown, now in its 18th day.
From the White House to Capitol Hill, GOP leaders called them "communists" and "Marxists." They said Democratic leaders including Schumer are beholden to the far-left flank and willing to keep the government shut to appease those liberal forces.
"I encourage you to watch -- we call it the Hate America rally -- that will happen on Saturday," said House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana.
"Let's see who shows up for that," Johnson said, listing groups including "antifa types," people who "hate capitalism" and "Marxists in full display."
Many demonstrators, in response, said they were meeting such hyperbole with humour, noting that Trump often leans heavily on theatrics such as claiming that cities he sends troops to are war zones.
New York police reported no arrests during the protests.
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‘Self-styled Vishwaguru stands exposed’: Cong's dig at PM over Pak role in US-Iran ceasefire
New Delhi (PTI): Taking a swipe at the government, the Congress on Wednesday said the role played by Pakistan in bringing about the ceasefire between the US and Iran is a “severe setback” to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's “highly personalised diplomacy” and “the self-styled Vishwaguru stands thoroughly exposed”.
The opposition party also said Prime Minister Modi's “cowardice is demonstrated by his silence not only on Israel’s belligerence, but on the completely unacceptable and disgraceful language being used by his good friend in the White House”.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the entire world will cautiously welcome the two-week ceasefire in the West Asia conflict between the US and Israel on the one side and Iran on the other.
“The conflict had begun on February 28th with the targeted assassinations of the topmost echelons of the regime in Iran. These had started just two days after Prime Minister Modi had completed his much-trumpeted visit to Israel, a visit that diminished India’s global stature and standing,” Ramesh claimed.
PM Modi had said nothing about Israel’s "genocide" in Gaza and its aggressively expansionist policies in the occupied West Bank, Ramesh said.
“The role played by Pakistan in bringing about the ceasefire is a severe setback to both the substance and style of Mr Modi’s highly personalised diplomacy,” he said.
The policy to isolate Pakistan for its continuing support to terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir and to convince the world that it is a failed state has clearly not succeeded – unlike what Manmohan Singh had accomplished after the Mumbai terror attacks, Ramesh claimed.
That a bankrupt economy dependent entirely on the largesse of external donors and a broken country in so many ways was able to play such a role calls into question Modi’s strategy of engagement and narrative management, he said.
“He (Modi) or his team has also never explained why Op Sindoor was suddenly and abruptly halted on May 10th 2025 - the first announcement of which came from the US Secretary of State and for which the US President has claimed credit almost a hundred times since then,” the Congress leader said.
“There is a palpable sigh of relief everywhere. The External Affairs Minister (S Jaishankar) dismissed Pakistan as a dalal. But now the self-styled Vishwaguru stands thoroughly exposed, his self-declared 56-inch chest shrunk and shrivelled,” Ramesh said.
“His cowardice is demonstrated by his silence not only on Israel’s belligerence, but on the completely unacceptable and disgraceful language being used by his good friend in the White House,” the Congress leader added.
US President Donald Trump pulled back on his threats to launch devastating strikes on Iran late Tuesday, as the US and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire that includes the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump swerved to de-escalate the war less than two hours before the deadline he set for Tehran to capitulate to a deal or face attacks on its bridges and power plants meant to destroy the Iranian civilisation.
Trump made the dramatic announcement on Truth Social on Tuesday evening (US time) even as Democrats called for his removal over unhinged threats to wipe out the Iranian civilisation.
"Based on conversations with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, of Pakistan, and wherein they requested that I hold off the destructive force being sent tonight to Iran, subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz," the US President said in a social media post.
Iran's Supreme National Security Council said it has accepted the ceasefire and that it would negotiate with the United States in Pakistan beginning Friday. Neither Iran nor the United States said when the ceasefire would begin, and attacks took place in Israel, Iran and across the Gulf region early Wednesday.
Israel backed the US ceasefire with Iran but the deal doesn't cover fighting against Hezbollah in Lebanon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said early Wednesday.
