Updated October 18, 2025 at 4:00 PM EDT
Demonstrators across the U.S. took to the streets on Saturday to protest the policies of President Trump. The marches are part of the No Kings movement, which has accused the president of behaving more like a monarch than an elected official.
This is the second massive wave of protests organized by No Kings — a network of progressive organizations fighting against Trump's agenda. Organizers projected a turnout in the millions across some 2,600 events around the country.
In New York City's Times Square, protesters spilled into the crowd on Broadway amid matinee show attendees, carrying signs that read: "resist the fascists traitors" and "No crowns, No kings," Gothamist reported.
The No Kings group said it had already achieved its goal in June and was ready to send the White House yet another statement.
"In June, we did what many claimed was impossible: peacefully mobilized millions of people to take to the streets and declare with one voice: America has No Kings," No Kings said on its website.
The overwhelmingly peaceful June protests were in response to a military parade held on the Army's 250th anniversary — which coincided with Trump's 79th birthday.
Critics said Trump had pushed for the extravagant parade not to commemorate the armed forces, but as a display of his own vanity.
"Now, President Trump has doubled down," No Kings said on its website, citing immigration detentions carried out by often-masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, the administration's aggressive slashing of federal education resources and environmental protections, gerrymandering and other concerns.
No Kings organizers estimated that more than 5 million people turned out for the June protests. They speculated that Saturday's event could be even bigger.
In Chicago, a city Trump has repeatedly criticized over crime, Mayor Brandon Johnson spoke to a cheering crowd.
"Now listen, there are those in this country who have decided at the behest of the President to declare war on Chicago and American cities across this country!" the Democratic official said. "But we are here to stand firm, to stand committed that we will not bend, we will not bow, we will not cower, we will not submit to the authoritarianism that is coming down!"
The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to allow it to deploy National Guard troops in Illinois after lower courts blocked the deployment.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has slammed the event as a "hate America rally," and other Republicans have derided the event as anti-American.
Responding to NPR's questions about the protests, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said: "Who cares?"
Republican Govs. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia and Greg Abbott of Texas, in preparation for the day of protesters, mobilized their states' National Guards.
"The Governor has authorized state active duty for training to help ensure the Guard will be ready to respond if needed to help keep people safe," Youngkin spokesman Peter Finocchio wrote in a statement to VPM.
The Texas Newsroom reported that Abbott said in a statement of sending the Guards to Austin: "Violence and destruction will never be tolerated in Texas. Texas will deter criminal mischief and work with local law enforcement to arrest anyone engaging in acts of violence or damaging property."
Standing by a traffic light in Plano, Texas, Jenny Colombo held a rainbow-trimmed sign that said "The Emperor Has No Clothes."
"I feel President Trump is the epitome of that character," Colombo told member station KERA. "Everybody is just walking around him, everybody can see what's going on, and they're all just supporting him blindly."
Speaking to Connecticut Public, that state's lead organizer, Jim Chapdelaine, reiterated the group's commitment to peace and the importance of showing up for what you believe in.
"There are powers that be that would prefer we all just stay at our houses and, I don't know, take up crochet," Chapdelaine said in a Tuesday interview. "It's really important to build community and solidarity and unity, [and] especially important to do that in a very peaceful way."
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