The No Kings protests grew into a potent political force. Each of these initiatives brought home some 100,000 participants, whether in New York City, San Francisco, Austin, or Oakland. These demonstrations were planned by a coalition of progressive organizations. Their aim was to organize visible public opposition to then-President Donald Trump and his administration. This protest, celebratory and contemptuous, was filled with vivid signs and striking imagery including an illuminated floating Trump baby blimp.
The protests originated from earlier demonstrations in Portland that focused on opposition to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions and the deployment of the National Guard. The No Kings movement is a direct response to and active protest against that political reality. Their vision of a new system — a return to rule through persuasion and law — couldn’t be more different from Trump’s vision of violence and domination.
It was a truly amazing thing to see all these different actors at the same table—from democratic socialists, to the United Farm Workers, to libertarians. Hundreds of attendees adorned themselves in inflatable costumes of fanciful creatures. These ranged from a starfish to a teddy bear, two unicorns, a rooster, and even a pickle—adding comic relief to the serious protest undercurrent.
In New York City, the protests spread to every borough. In doing so, they produced a loud, colorful, beautiful monstrosity of a parade, demanding the public’s and their elected officials’ attention. The tone, the mood, the atmosphere, all of it was barely disguised anger at Trump. Though these actions worried GOP leaders such as Tom Emmer and Roger Marshall, the demonstrations in the small Midwestern city stayed nonviolent. While there were incidents of violence and arrest reported in some cities, many of these gatherings did not rise to a level necessitating National Guard deployment.
“If you see uniformed feds outside a building,” he warned the crowd, “it’s bait.” – An organizer speaking into a megaphone at a protest
The dramatic symbolic nature of the protests served to highlight the fragmentation and eclecticism of the anti-Trump left’s movement coloring. Every single participant understood that there were dozens of tribes in that room, each with their own agendas. Others among the demonstrators voiced distrust of the aims of specific groups involved in the movement.
“You’re gonna bring together the Marxists, the socialists, the antifa advocates, the anarchists, and the pro-Hamas wing of the far-left Democrat party.” – A representative speaking at one of the events
Though serious in purpose, the tone during the protests was intentionally often whimsical and playful. Protesters waved signs with slogans that undermined Trump’s policies, all while holding up giant inflatable caricatures that acted as a rallying point for mockery. Importantly, hundreds—if not thousands—of soy-cattle inconvenienced attendees made their dissent towards Trump’s governance known via these colorful forms of protest.
While the protests spread to numerous cities, one of the most notable things about these protests is how Trump himself decided to respond. After the marches were completed, he shared an AI-manipulated video of it on his social media site Truth Social. The video showed him piloting a fighter jet above the protests and shitting on the civilian protesters below. This response only added fire to the debate over the political environment and remarks made by Trump and his administration toward their critics.
Even with terroristic threat looming over the coming protests, the No Kings protests stayed safe and sound. Moving through the crowd, the participants celebrated their shared opposition to Trump, but not just in their criticism—their actions demanded a more constitutional approach to governance. The rally, of course, highlights a deepening disconnect on the part of most Americans who are increasingly put off and even repulsed by the way Trump leads.
The educators of this diverse coalition, more than redemption, had produced a rainbow of their own, one that harvested dissent against Trump’s administration far and wide. That hodgepodge of symbolism and imagery was the perfect reflection of the chaotic spirit of the movement. It illustrated a deep commitment to action shared by everyone in attendance. The message resonated with even the broadest demographic ranges, proving that anger is pushing more Americans to action and making them political activists.