Demonstrations held in every US state as people condemn Trump’s hardline tactics, calling for democracy and reforms. Huge crowds took to the streets in all 50 states of the United States to hold “No Kings” protests, expressing anger over President Donald Trump’s hardline policies, while Republicans ridiculed them as “Hate America” rallies. Organisers said seven million people attended protests spanning from New York to Los Angeles on Saturday, with demonstrations taking place in small cities across the US heartland and even near Trump’s home in Florida. “This is what democracy looks like!” chanted thousands near the US Capitol in Washington, DC, where the federal government had been shut down for a third week amid a legislative deadlock. Colourful signs called on people to “protect democracy”, while others demanded that the country abolish the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, which is at the centre of Trump’s anti-immigrant crackdown. Demonstrators condemned what they described as the Republican billionaire’s strong-arm tactics, including attacks on the media, political opponents, and undocumented immigrants. In Los Angeles, protesters floated a giant balloon portraying Trump in a nappy. Many flew flags, with at least one referencing the popular pirate anime “One Piece”, brandishing the skull logo that has recently become a staple of antigovernment protests from Peru to Madagascar. “Fight ignorance, not migrants,” read one sign at a protest in Houston, Texas, where nearly a quarter of the population is made up of immigrants, according to the Migration Policy Institute.
via al jazeera: Millions of US protesters hold anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ rallies
sieeh auch: Republicans mostly silent as millions of Americans protest Trump on No Kings day Outside of typical remarks from Donald Trump, JD Vance and Mike Johnson and a Fox News report, party stayed mum. Republican voices were mostly silent as No Kings rallies and marches against Trump administration policies unfurled on Saturday, many in the spirit of a street party that countered the “hate America” depiction advanced by senior members of the party. Instead of provocation, there were marching bands, huge banners with “we the people” references to the US constitution, and protesters wearing inflatable costumes, particularly frogs, which have emerged as a sign of resistance. 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. In comments Friday, Donald Trump opposed the protest organizers’ characterization of him as a would-be monarch. “They say they’re referring to me as a king. I’m not a king,” Trump said in a Fox News interview. 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. At a White House event on Wednesday, Trump tried to downplay the No Kings events. “I hear very few people [are] going to be there, by the way, but they have their day coming up and they want to have their day in the sun,” he said. Trump is spending the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida. In a counter-programming move, JD Vance and defense secretary Pete Hegseth were attending a live-fire amphibious capabilities demonstration at Camp Pendleton in California to commemorate the US Marine Corps’ 250th birthday. However, a plan to fire live artillery shells over a nearby highway drew objections from governor Gavin Newsom, who said it forced the California highway patrol to close a portion of a major interstate through southern California for safety reasons. “The President is putting his ego over responsibility with this disregard for public safety,” the Democratic governor said in a statement. “Firing live rounds over a busy highway isn’t just wrong – it’s dangerous.”
