No Kings: Mass demonstrations against Trump in multiple US cities

Millions of people are expected to take part in marches from New York to San Francisco on Saturday against Donald Trump’s policies in a day of protests organized by the “No Kings” movement across the country.

The “No Kings” movement, which is calling for the march, states in its campaign slogan, “The president believes his power is absolute, but in America, we have no kings, and we won’t surrender to chaos, corruption, and cruelty”.

More than 2,700 demonstrations are planned for Saturday in major US cities, as well as in small towns in Republican-held states, and near the president’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, where he is spending the weekend, as the organizers say they expect millions of people to participate.

In mid-June, the first day of the mobilization, organized by the movement itself and comprising some 300 organizations, brought together millions of people of all ages in the largest protest since the Republican president’s return to the White House.

On that day, Donald Trump celebrated his 79th birthday with a massive military parade through the streets of the US capital.

Trump, who threatened last June to respond to the protesters with “very great force,” commented this week on Fox News, saying, “They’re calling me a king. I’m not a king”.

Officials in his party condemned the upcoming demonstrations, going so far as to compare them to terrorism.

House Republican Leader Mike Johnson described the planned marches as a “mobilization of hatred against America,” asserting, “I bet you’ll see supporters of Hamas!”

In turn, Minnesota Representative Tom Emmer accused Democrats of surrendering to the “terrorist wing of their party.”.

“This movement will play a crucial role in America’s future, so I understand why they’re concerned,” Maryland Democratic Rep. Glen Ivey said, adding that he would participate in the marches.

In the face of “the abuse of power by Donald Trump and his allies,” Deirdre Schaeffling, an official with the major civil rights and civil liberties organization ACLU, which co-organized this mobilization, previously asserted, “We won’t allow ourselves to be silenced”.

Hollywood star Robert De Niro called for participation in the protest in a video in which he urged his fellow citizens to rise up “peacefully” against “King Donald Trump”.

Since returning to power in January, Donald Trump has disrupted the balance of American democracy, overstepping the authority of Congress and states, and threatening his opponents with retaliatory legal action.

The increasingly bellicose Republican has deployed military forces to Democratic strongholds, claiming the goal is to combat illegal immigration and crime, and recently urged senior military officers to take action against the “enemy within”.

Rallies are scheduled for Saturday in cities where Trump has deployed the National Guard, such as Washington and Chicago, as well as in those where he plans to do so, such as Boston and New Orleans.

On the previous day’s mobilization, celebrities such as actor Mark Ruffalo and comedian Jimmy Kimmel, who later temporarily suspended his talk show under pressure from the Trump administration, participated.

Similar actions are also planned for major Canadian cities such as Toronto, Vancouver, and Ottawa.