Demonstrators will once again take to the streets for “No Kings Day,” a nationwide series of protests against the Trump administration, on Oct. 18.
Although demonstrations against President Trump have been frequent since his initial term, “No Kings Day” commenced on June 14. These events were coordinated in reaction to the 250th anniversary military parade of the U.S. Army in Washington, D.C., coinciding with Trump’s 79th birthday.
Nationwide, 2,000 “No Kings” protests are set for next Saturday, as announced by the Indivisible project. Major cities like Los Angeles, Boston, Washington, Chicago, Atlanta, New Orleans, Kansas City, Mo., and Bozeman, Mont., have plans, extending into Canada and reaching as far south as Madrid, a town in Mexico.
“On October 18, millions of us are rising once more to show the world: America has no kings, and the power belongs to the people,” says the primary page on the “No Kings” website.
The protest in Washington will be held in front of the U.S. Capitol building, and is expected to draw out thousands of demonstrators.
In addition to citizens dissatisfied with the present administration, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) encouraged its federal employee members to join the protests as well.
“The protest movement has gained new urgency with the government shutdown that started Oct. 1,” the AFGE stated on Oct. 6. “Closing down the government is another authoritarian power grab by this administration, which has threatened to lay off large numbers of furloughed federal workers as part of an ongoing mission to dismantle federal programs and services the administration disapproves of.”
Spanning over 900 local unions, AFGE represents more than 820,000 workers in almost every federal agency and within the government, according to its website.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) slammed the “No Kings Day” protests in an interview on Fox News on Friday, when he said he’s “a very patient guy, but I’ve had it with these people.”
“The theory we have right now [is] they have a ‘Hate America’ rally that’s scheduled for Oct. 18 on the National Mall,” Johnson said. “It’s all the pro-Hamas wing and the antifa people, they’re all coming out.”
On Thursday, actor Robert De Niro called on Americans to take part in the upcoming “No Kings Day,” referring to the American Revolution as the “original No Kings.”
“We’ve had two and a half centuries of democracy since then, often challenging, sometimes messy, always essential,” De Niro said in a video shared on Indivisible’s Instagram page. “And we fought in two world wars to preserve it. Now we have a would-be king who wants to take it away, King Donald I. F‑‑‑ that!”
The first “No Kings Day” notably did not have a demonstration held in Washington.
“Instead of allowing this birthday parade to be the center of gravity, we will make action everywhere else the story of America that day: people coming together in communities across the country to reject strongman politics and corruption,” organizers previously stated.
Instead, organizers encouraged demonstrators local to the D.C. area to head to the flagship march in Philadelphia or to a local protest in Virginia or Maryland.
