The No Kings Day protest reached across all 50 U.S. states along with international territories on Saturday, October 18th, as a reaction to decisions made by the Trump admin. No Kings Day is a peaceful nationwide protest that first came to light on June 14, the day of President Trump’s birthday and Flag Day, because of the “government’s swift drift into authoritarianism under President Donald Trump,” cited by AP news.
“The president thinks his rule is absolute. But in America, we don’t have kings- and we won’t back down against chaos, corruption, and cruelty.” A message from the website nokings.org.
President Trump, along with Vice President JD Vance, responded with mockery towards the No Kings Day protest. On social media, they posted AI memes portraying Trump in a crown and others mocking protestors.
Each state approached the protest in its own way but with the same goal in mind. Outside of the Department of Labor in Washington D.C., protestors would sign a huge banner with the U.S. Constitution’s “We the People” preamble. In San Francisco, people spelled out “No Kings!” and other phrases with their bodies. In Utah, people gathered to commemorate a protester who was shot during the first “No Kings” protest in June.
This large peaceful protest reached across more than 2,700 US cities and towns, with more than seven million protestors attending making it the largest single day protest in U.S. history. These rallies looked more like a “street party” consisting of marching bands and inflatable costumes, “particularly frogs, which have emerged as a sign of resistance in Portland, Oregon,” said AP news.
In Hartford, one brought together an estimated crowd of 12,000 people. Senior student Patch Isaiah Bowen, majoring in multi-platform journalism, had joined another rally held in the New Haven Green.
“I march to promote class unity, abolition of racial capitalism and direct action against authoritarianism,” said Bowen.
The No Kings Day rally gave opportunity for protestors to “oppose a wide range of issues”, including the current administration’s immigration tactics and the decision of federal and military interventions within the country.
Bowen said, “Socialist Workers Party was there to build membership, so was the Democratic Socialists of America. The New Haven Immigrants were there protesting ICE presence and violence in the state. They also were giving out ICE watching packets for community defense.”
They also saw protestors holding signs stating, “end all US aid to Israel” while other signs were less direct with puns about “No Kings”.
Rachel Cajimat, a junior forensic science major, felt inspired to join a future protest. “I think unified action and calling attention to what we believe in can convince lawmakers and other people in charge to take the steps that we want them to,” she said.
Cajimat said people across the country showed up to fight against what they believe are acts only a king would want to do, and that our government now does not believe in the democratic government as before.
She said, “I think it’s very cool that so many people showed up for their beliefs, and that it’s important to keep doing so in the future in order to see the results that they want.”
