‘No Kings’ rallies draw millions protesting Trump globally

“No to Kings” protests surged through America’s small towns and big cities on Saturday, with crowds gathering to protest President Trump, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s crackdown, the war in Iran and high gasoline and food prices.

Saturday’s demonstrations were expected to draw millions of people across the country, including thousands who attended a rally in downtown Los Angeles. More than 40 protests were planned in Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura counties as part of the national “No Kings Day of Nonviolent Action.”

No Kings Coalition organizer expected that attendance at rallies in all 50 states would combine to form the largest single-day protest in U.S. history. They noted growing anger over the direction of the country since the first “No to Kings” demonstration last June, including deadly ICE attacks and troops being sent to the Middle East.

Hundreds of people gathered around the reflecting pool at Pasadena City College on Saturday morning. A band took the stage with a fascism-themed parody of Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues.” Protesters carrying banners lined Colorado Boulevard and a steady blast of horns could be heard from passing cars. Many people were thinking of the Iran war.

“Every time we protest, something completely new happens that points to the chaos of the Trump administration,” Cindy Campbell told The Times. “There were ICE raids last year, Epstein filed a few months ago. Now there’s war.”

“This administration doesn’t serve us. It serves billionaires,” said Kent Miller of Monrovia, who attended the Pasadena protest. “War with Iran only makes life harder for working people.”

Miller showed a Chevron gas station advertising gasoline for $6.45 per gallon.

“To see?” he said.

National coordinators said interest in smaller communities, including Republican bastions, has increased, with a higher-than-expected turnout during Saturday’s protests.

“I’m here because I’m disgusted by what I’m seeing,” said Kersty Kinsey, a mother protesting near Beaufort S.C. City Hall. “People suffer and he plays golf. People suffer and he goes to other places and blows things up.”

Barb Nash, one of the coordinators, said an estimated 3,000 people attended in Beaufort, an antebellum town founded in 1711; this was a marked increase compared to previous “No Kings” rallies. Amid moss-draped live oaks and blooming pink and white azaleas, a person dressed in a purple Barney dinosaur costume held a sign that read “Dino is for Democracy.” A young girl handed out homemade “Resistance Cookies.”

Los Angeles coordinators said they expect more than 100,000 people to attend local events planned for Beverly Hills, Burbank, West Covina, West Hollywood and Thousand Oaks. One group planned a “Road Rage” car caravan that would drive through Mid City, flying flags calling for “No War” and “ICE Out of Los Angeles.” At a Torrance rally, cars honked their horns, protesters waved flags and a person in an inflatable green cow costume hoisted a large American flag.

In a statement on Saturday, the White House described the protests as a “Trump Imbalance Therapy Session.”

Organizers said they were particularly encouraged by growing interest from groups in rural communities who wanted to join the loosely-formed No Kings Coalition and organize protests.

Just earlier this week, Jaynie Parrish, founder of the Arizona Indian Vote project, began planning a protest for her small town of Kayenta on the Navajo Nation in northern Arizona.

“My father, who [military] A senior old man said, ‘We should go,’ and I said, ‘Okay,'” Parrish told The Times.

“Our guys don’t always protest things, but this was a big deal,” Parrish said. “Many of our families are feeling the effects of higher prices and cuts right now. Many of our health care benefits are being cut… and our tribal sovereignty is being threatened.”

Optimistic Midwestern activists braved high winds to form a line of protesters stretching for nearly three blocks on Burlington Boulevard in Hastings, Neb. Drew Fausett, one of the protesters, is a registered Republican in a decidedly red state, he told The Times in a telephone interview under clear blue skies.

“My politics haven’t changed much, but the party around me has,” Fausett said. “It used to be that the two sides were two sides of the same coin and worked together, but that’s not the case anymore.”

He and his wife, Becky, participated in “No Kings” and other protests because “it’s the only way to show that people have different views,” he said. “People are here speaking on behalf of their families and neighbors. That’s what it’s all about.”

Debby Thompson, one of the Hastings organizers, said Trump’s policies have hurt many people in Nebraska, including farmers.

“We want to urge our representatives in Congress to not just approve everything Trump wants because it really hurts rural people and farmers,” Thompson said. “Tariffs and large increases in fertilizer prices are really hitting farmers hard.”

The “No to Kings” campaign sprouted as an act of defiance on Trump’s 79th birthday in June. He called for a military parade in Washington to mark his milestone, and anti-Trump protesters (an estimated 5 million people nationwide) hit the road with their own demonstrations. At the time, Trump’s second-term policies, including stepping up immigration raids, sending the National Guard to Los Angeles in response to protests and mass layoffs within the federal government, were coming into focus.

The next event in mid-October attracted even larger crowds, with nearly 7 million people protesting across the country.

Saturday’s event coincided with a decline in Trump’s approval ratings. A. Reuters/Ipsos poll Last week, it was revealed that Trump’s job performance had a 36% approval rating; This marks the lowest level since his return to office last year. Separately Fox News Poll In the survey released last week, 59% disapproved of his job performance.

“Since the last ‘No to Kings,’ we are seeing higher gas prices and groceries while an illegal war continues in Iran,” Sarah Parker, national organizer for 50501, said at a news conference Thursday. “We also saw our neighbors being executed, American citizens being executed.”

Widespread protests and candlelight vigils followed the deadly shootings of Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, and Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse, by ICE agents in Minneapolis in January.

“The defining story of this Saturday’s action is not just how many people are protesting, but where they are protesting,” Indivisible co-founder Leah Greenberg said at the press conference. He said two-thirds of RSVPs sent to national organizers came from outside major urban centres.

The Los Angeles event was organized by the local chapter of 50501 (an acronym for “50 protests, 50 states, 1 movement”) and other progressive groups such as the ACLU, Human Rights Campaign, Indivisible, and Public Citizen, as well as labor unions such as Unite Here Local 11 and Service Workers International Union.

“There is an affordability crisis in this country; people can’t afford food or healthcare,” SEIU executive vice president Joseph Bryant said in a statement. “But this administration is focused on expanding its power, starting unnecessary wars to benefit billionaires, and targeting immigrants and citizens who dare to oppose them.”