By Asad Hashim with Maggy Donaldson, AFP
Protesters rally during the "No Kings" national day of protest in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Photo: AFP / KEREM YUCEL
Huge crowds have taken to the streets Saturday in all 50 US states to vent their anger over US President Donald Trump's hardline policies at "No Kings" protests that Republicans ridiculed as "Hate America" rallies.
Organisers 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.
Protesters rally during the "No Kings" national day of protest in Los Angeles, California. Photo: AFP / FREDERIC J. BROWN
"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.
Colourful signs called on people to "protect democracy," while others demanded the country abolish the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency at the centre of Trump's anti-immigrant crackdown.
People participate in a "No Kings" national day of protest in Washington, DC, on 18 October, 2025. Photo: AMID FARAHI / AFP
A US government shutdown is now in its third week, with the Trump administration firing thousands of federal workers and lawmakers showing little sign they are ready to break the impasse.
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."
A person participates in a "No Kings" national day of protest in New York on 18 October, 2025. Photo: TIMOTHY A.CLARY / AFP
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 8000 and 10,000 people.
People participate in a "No Kings" national day of protest in West Palm Beach, Florida, on 18 October, 2025. Photo: CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP
In New York's Queens borough, demonstrators carried colourful signs that read "Queens Say No Kings," and "We protest because we love America and want it back!" while some chanted, "We love our country, we can't stand Trump!"
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 faeces on anti-Trump protesters.
People participate in a "No Kings" national day of protest in Boston, Massachusetts. Photo: JOSEPH PREZIOSO / AFP
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.
A demonstrator protests the Trump administration during the "No Kings" national rally in Denver, Colorado. Photo: AFP / JASON CONNOLLY
'Country of equals'
Beyond the United States, the "No Kings" movement is even organising events in Canada, and small protests took place Saturday in Malaga, Spain and Malmo, Sweden.
On Thursday, Deirdre Schifeling, chief political and advocacy officer for 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 the National Guard into US cities and crack down on undocumented migrants.
Trump has ordered National Guard troops into Los Angeles, Washington and Memphis. Planned deployments to Chicago and Portland, Oregon have so far been blocked in the courts.
"It is the classic authoritarian playbook: threaten, smear and lie, scare people into submission," Greenberg said.
Top Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer encouraged demonstrators to let their voices be heard.
"I say to my fellow Americans this No Kings Day: Do not let Donald Trump and Republicans intimidate you into silence. That's what they want to do. They're afraid of the truth," he wrote Saturday on X.
"Speak out, use your voice, and exercise your right to free speech."
- AFP
