By John Zurcher
America News World
Washington DC, October 19, 2025
Millions of Americans flooded streets from coast to coast on Saturday in the second wave of ‘No Kings’ protests, decrying President Donald Trump’s expansion of executive power as a slide toward autocracy.
Organisers hailed the events as the largest single-day demonstration in modern US history, surpassing even the inaugural Earth Day rallies of 1970, with nearly 7 million participants across more than 2,700 locations in all 50 states.
The distributed actions—spanning urban hubs like New York and Los Angeles to rural towns in Montana and Missouri—united under a simple, defiant slogan: America has no kings.
The protests, coordinated by a coalition of over 200 progressive groups, labour unions and civil rights organisations, built on June’s mobilisation that drew 5 million against Trump’s military parade on his 79th birthday.
This iteration arrived amid a government shutdown entering its third week, fuelled by Republican demands for deeper spending cuts, and Trump’s flurry of executive orders dismantling federal agencies, ramping up deportations and deploying National Guard troops to Democratic-led cities without governors’ consent.
“We’re not here because we hate America,” Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders told thousands marching down the National Mall in Washington DC. “We’re here because we love it—and we won’t let one man’s greed and corruption erode our Constitution.”
In New York’s Times Square, an estimated 100,000 protesters packed the neon-lit crossroads, spilling into subway entrances and down Seventh Avenue.
Chants of “This is what democracy looks like!” echoed against a backdrop of drums, cowbells and the iconic 20-foot inflatable Trump baby blimp hovering overhead—a staple of anti-Trump satire since 2018.
Freelance writer Beth Zasloff, 45, clutched a sign reading “No Kings NYC: No Hate, No Fear, Immigrants Welcome Here.” “I’m outraged by this march toward fascism,” she said, her voice rising above the crowd. “New York is my home, and seeing so many others out here gives me real hope.”
The New York Police Department reported no arrests across the city’s five boroughs, crediting protesters’ commitment to non-violence—a core tenet promoted on the No Kings website.
Across the country, the scene repeated in vibrant, carnival-like tableaux. In Chicago, Mayor Brandon Johnson addressed a sea of demonstrators near City Hall: “We will not bend, we will not bow, we will not cower. We will defend our democracy and tear down tyranny—together.”
San Francisco’s Ocean Beach hosted a massive human banner spelling “No Kings,” visible from drones overhead. 3 Portland’s World Naked Bike Ride twisted through rain-slicked streets in defiant humour, mocking Trump’s portrayal of activists as “anarchists.” 1
Costumes abounded: frog suits in Kansas City jabbed at Republican “Antifa” smears; a bloodied Statue of Liberty in Denver decried immigration crackdowns; and Cookie Monster effigies in DC skewered Trump’s cabinet picks like Attorney General Pam Bondi. 9
Personal stories underscored the urgency. Massimo Mascoli, a 68-year-old retired engineer from New Jersey who fled fascist Italy as a child, marched in Manhattan with a sign: “This is what democracy looks like.” “My uncle was tortured and killed resisting Mussolini,” he told reporters, voice steady but eyes fierce. “After 80 years, I never thought I’d see fascism rise here. We can’t trust the courts, Congress or the executive—they’re all against the people now.” His fears echoed widespread grievances: healthcare cuts affecting millions, renewed inflation from Trump’s tariffs, and extrajudicial deportations targeting vulnerable communities.
Democratic leaders amplified the message. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer joined New Yorkers, hoisting a placard demanding fixes to the “healthcare crisis” and tweeting: “No dictators in America.
We won’t let Trump erode our democracy.” In Atlanta, Raphael Warnock invoked civil rights icons; Cory Booker rallied crowds in Newark; and Adam Schiff, in DC, warned of “unlawful administration” tactics.
Even international solidarity emerged: hundreds gathered outside the US embassy in London, waving “Hands Off Canada” signs in Toronto, and protesting in Berlin, Madrid and Rome. 7
Trump, golfing at Mar-a-Lago, dismissed the rallies in a Fox News preview: “A king? This is not an act. I’m not a king.” But his allies ramped up rhetoric.
House Speaker Mike Johnson branded them a “hate America rally,” while Kansas Senator Roger Marshall warned of needing the National Guard, doubting peacefulness.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott activated troops for Austin’s “Antifa-linked” event, a move Democrats like state rep Gene Wu slammed as “what kings and dictators do.” Virginia’s Glenn Youngkin followed suit, though no troops appeared at rallies.
Despite the bluster, the day unfolded peacefully. One DC protester, 76-year-old Chuck Epes, waved a sign: “I am Antifa”—reclaiming the slur to mean support for “peace, daycare, livable wages, healthcare, immigrants and people of colour.”
“He’s gaslighting us, but it ain’t working,” Epes laughed. A lone MAGA-hat wearer at the DC march drew shouts but no violence, later noting the civility.
Polls reflect the divide: A Reuters/Ipsos survey pegs Trump’s approval at 40%, with 58% disapproving—mirroring his first term but down from January’s 47%. Organisers like Indivisible’s Ezra Levin framed No Kings as a “joyous rejection” of authoritarianism, urging sustained action. “Anger isn’t enough,” warned the Socialist Equality Party; “mobilise the working class.” 2
As night fell, X buzzed with footage: veterans decrying “dictators” they didn’t fight for; teens like USC student Jesùs Castro railing against “stripping rights slowly via Project 2025.” 4 One post captured a child in Cornelius, North Carolina, honking cars for support: “Ribbit, resist, repeat.” Critics like Benny Johnson mocked the crowds as “all over 50,” but videos showed multigenerational throngs.
The protests signal deepening fissures in Trump’s second term, with organisers vowing escalation if the shutdown persists. As one LA marcher in a SpongeBob costume quipped: “No thrones, no clowns with crowns—just people power.” For now, the message rang clear: In America, the people—not a president—hold the crown.
John Zurcher is a veteran BBC correspondent now with America News World, covering US politics and social movements. Follow him on X @JohnZurcherANW for updates
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