They rallied with signs like “Nothing is more patriotic than protesting” or “Resist Fascism,” and in many places it looked more like a street party. There were marching bands, a huge banner with the U.S. Constitution’s “We The People,” preamble that people could sign, and protesters in frog costumes, which have emerged as a sign of resistance in Portland, Oregon.
Demonstrators packed places like New York City’s Times Square, the historic Boston Commons, Chicago’s Grant Park, Washington, D.C., and hundreds of smaller public spaces.
Many protesters were especially angered by attacks on their motives. In Washington, Brian Reymann said being called a terrorist all week by Republicans was “pathetic.”
“This is America. I disagree with their politics — but I don’t believe that they don’t love this country. I believe they are misguided. I think they are power hungry,” Reymann said, carrying a large American flag.
Trump himself is spending the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.
More than 2,600 rallies are planned Saturday in cities large and small, organized by hundreds of coalition partners.
“Big rallies like this give confidence to people who have been sitting on the sidelines but are ready to speak up,” Democratic U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy said in an interview with The Associated Press.
“There is no greater threat to an authoritarian regime than patriotic people-power,” said Ezra Levin, a co-founder of Indivisible, among the key organizers. In April, the national march against Trump and Elon Musk had 1,300 registered locations. In June, for the first “No Kings” day, there were 2,100 registered locations.
Before noon, several thousand people had gathered in Times Square, chanting “Trump must go now,” and waving sometimes-profane signs with slogans insulting the president and condemning his immigration crackdown. Some people carried American flags.
“I really don’t like the crooks and conmen and religious zealots who are trying to use the country” for personal gain, McCormally said, “while they are killing and hurting millions of people with bombs.”
“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 responded to such hyperbole with silliness in part because they say Trump leans heavily on theatrics — like claiming cities he sends troops to are war zones — said Glen Kalbaugh, a Washington protester.
“So much of what we’ve seen from this administration has been so unserious and silly that we have to respond with the same energy,” said Kalbaugh, who wore a wizard hat and held a sign with a frog on it.
Democrats have refused to vote on legislation that would reopen the government as they demand funding for health care. Republicans say they are willing to discuss the issue later, only after the government reopens.
But for many Democrats, the government closure is also a way to stand up to Trump, and try to push the presidency back to its place in the U.S. system as a co-equal branch of government. It’s also a way to draw a moral line in the sand, said Murphy, the senator from Connecticut.
“Trump does think that he’s a king,” Murphy said at the Washington rally, “and he thinks that he can act more corruptly when the government is shut down. But he cannot.”
The situation is a potential turnaround from just six months ago, when Democrats and their allies were divided and despondent. Schumer in particular was berated by his party for allowing an earlier government funding bill to sail through the Senate without using it to challenge Trump.
“What we are seeing from the Democrats is some spine,” said march organizer Levin. “The worst thing the Democrats could do right now is surrender.”
