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WASHINGTON (AP) — Protesting the direction of the country under President Donald Trump, people gathered Saturday in the nation’s capital and communities big and small across the U.S. for “ No Kings ” demonstrations that the president’s Republican Party disparaged as “Hate America” rallies.
With signs such as “Nothing is more patriotic than protesting” or “Resist Fascism,” in many places the events 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 demonstrators wearing inflatable costumes, particularly frogs, which have emerged as a sign of resistance in Portland, Oregon.
It was the third mass mobilization since Trump’s return to the White House and came against the backdrop of a government shutdown that not only has closed federal programs and services but is testing the core balance of power, as an aggressive executive confronts Congress and the courts in ways that protest organizers warn are a slide toward authoritarianism.
Trump himself was spending the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.
“They say they’re referring to me as a king. I’m not a king,” Trump said in a Fox News interview that aired early Friday, before he departed for a $1 million-per-plate MAGA Inc. fundraiser at his club.
Later Friday a Trump campaign social media account mocked the protests by posting a computer-generated video of the president clothed like a monarch, wearing a crown and waving from a balcony.
Nationwide demonstrations
People packed into New York City’s Times Square, Boston Common and Chicago’s Grant Park; outside state capitols in Tennessee and Indiana and a courthouse in Billings, Montana; and at hundreds of smaller public spaces. More than 2,600 rallies were planned on the day, organizers said.
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Bee Parker, right, holds up a sign during a “No Kings” protest in downtown Las Vegas Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. (Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP) -
Demonstrators, dressed in inflatable animal costumes, cross Las Vegas Boulevard during a “No Kings” protest in downtown Las Vegas Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. (Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP) -
A U.S. Park Police officer oversees a No Kings protest, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert) -
A person holds up a placard as traffic passes by during a “No Kings” protest, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski). -
Former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., addresses the crowd at a No Kings rally in Birmingham, Ala., Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Bill Barrow) -
A protester dressed in a Statue of Liberty costume takes part in a “No Kings” protest against the direction of the country under President Donald Trump, in New York, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025,. (AP Photo/Olga Fedorova) -
Crowds cross the memorial bridge as part of a No Kings protest, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert) -
A demonstrtor carries a sign saying “DEMocracy not TRUMPocracy” on Pennsylvania Avenue during a No Kings protest in Washington, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) -
A person holds an American flag before a “No Kings” protest Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) -
Thousands of protesters fill Times Square during a “No Kings” protest Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Olga Fedorova) -
Boater during No Kings protest on Portland’s South Waterfront on Saturday, Oct. 18. (KOIN)
Many protesters were 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,” Reymann said, carrying a large U.S. flag. “I believe they are misguided. I think they are power-hungry.”
More than 1,500 people gathered in Birmingham, Alabama, evoking and openly citing the city’s history of protests and the critical role it played in the Civil Rights Movement two generations ago.
“It just feels like we’re living in an America that I don’t recognize,” said Jessica Yother, a mother of four. She and other protesters said they felt camaraderie by gathering in a state where Trump won nearly 65% of the vote last November.
“It was so encouraging,” Yother said. “I walked in and thought, ‘Here are my people.’”
In San Francisco hundreds of people spelled out “No Kings” and other phrases with their bodies on Ocean Beach. Salt Lake City demonstrators gathered outside the Utah State Capitol to share messages of hope and healing after a protester was fatally shot during the city’s first “No Kings” march in June.
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