The first of what could be up to 2,600 “No Kings” protest eventsa massive mobilization against President Donald Trump’s policies on immigration, education and security in the United States and other countries, began on Saturday.
The protests – large and small, in cities, suburbs and small towns across the United States – follow the massive demonstrations in June and They reflect the frustration of opponents of an agenda that Trump has deployed with unprecedented speed since taking office.
Organizers maintain that the Republican’s policies are pushing the country towards an autocracy.
Saturday’s rallies began outside the United Stateswith a couple of hundred protesters gathering in front of Washington’s embassy in London, and a few hundred more gathering in Madrid and Barcelona.
On Saturday morning in northern Virginia, many protesters walked on the overpasses that cross the highways heading to Washington, and Several hundred people gathered around Arlington National Cemetery.
Since Trump took office 10 months ago, His Government has stepped up enforcement of immigration lawhas moved to cut the federal workforce and slashed funding for elite universities over issues such as pro-Palestinian protests against the war in Israel in Gaza, diversity on campus and transgender policies.
Residents of some big cities have seen the president send in National Guard soldiers, arguing that They are necessary to protect immigration agents and help combat crime.
“There is nothing more American than saying ‘we have no kings’ and exercising our right to peacefully protest“said Leah Greenberg, co-founder of Indivisible, a progressive organization that is the main organizer of these marches.
Trump has said very little about Saturday’s protests, but in an interview with Fox Business that aired Friday, he said, “They are referring to me as a king (…) I am not a king“.
Independent Senator Bernie Sanders and Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have endorsed the marches, as has former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who lost the 2016 presidential election to Trump. A number of celebrities have also supported the movement.
More than 2,000 “No Kings” protests took place in June, most of them peacefulthe same day that Trump celebrated his 79th birthday and a military parade took place in Washington.
