Millions of Americans across the U.S. are expected to take to the streets on Saturday as part of the No Kings protests, demonstrating against President Donald Trump and his administration’s policies.
The organizers behind the protests say there are over 2,600 registered events across all 50 states.
Saturday’s protests come three months after the initial nationwide No Kings demonstrations on June 14, organized as a counter-protest to the U.S. Army 250th Anniversary Parade in Washington, D.C., which fell on President Trump’s birthday.
“Over the past few months thousands of people have organized once again in their communities, on the ground locally, volunteering to bring their neighbors, families and friends together to say unequivocally, ‘We have no kings,’” said No Kings organizer Eunice Epstein-Ortiz.
Protests come as new poll shows a majority still disapprove of Trump’s performance
On Friday, new polling from The Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research revealed 61% of U.S. adults disapprove of the way President Trump is handling his job, up from 53% in August.
Nearly half of Americans say they approve of the president’s handling of the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians, a significant increase from September, but on domestic issues he’s received lower marks.
Republican leaders reject No Kings rallies
Republican lawmakers like House Speaker Mike Johnson have labeled the No Kings protests as “Hate America” rallies.
“It'll be a collection of Antifa, BLM, the Marxist,” Johnson said Thursday. “You'll see pro-Hamas flags out there, I'm sure. It'll be a collection of wild leftist policy priorities, and that'll be on display for the whole country.”
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Organizers emphasize nonviolence
Organizers behind the No Kings events say a commitment to nonviolent action is a “core principle” behind the demonstrations.
They’ve led sessions leading up to Saturday in which speakers have shared tips for de-escalating potential confrontations and have prepared for cases in which the National Guard could get called in, given the Trump administration’s decision to authorize their presence in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Memphis, Tenn., and in the Chicago area.
“There is nothing more American than saying that we don't have kings and exercising our right to peaceful protest,” said Leah Greenberg, a co-founder of Indivisible, a group partnering with No Kings on the day of protests.
Over 200 organizations have partnered to put the protests together, including the American Federation of Teachers and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
“Our movement is a peaceful nonviolent movement, and we believe in nonviolence,” said Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers. “Everyone who we have talked to about this understands the principles of nonviolence.”
History and political analysis shows massive movements like this that remain nonviolent often drive change more effectively. The “3.5% rule” refers to the claim originally researched by human rights and international affairs researcher Erica Chenoweth, that no government has withstood a challenge of 3.5% of their population mobilized against it, that demands cannot go unanswered. The analysis notes this is simply a descriptive statistic, noting momentum, organization and strategic leadership is key. In the U.S., 3.5% of the population equates to about 12 million people, though the research notes that movements have succeeded with even less participation than the noted benchmark.
Research shows acceptance of violent dissent growing
Americans appear to be more accepting of violence as a means of protest.
Three in ten Americans now say violence may be necessary to “get the country back on track,” according to a recent poll from NPR, PBS News and Marist. That’s up 10 points from last year. A separate poll from the University of Chicago and NORC found 27% of Democrats agreed the use of force is justified to remove Trump from the presidency.
During this summer’s No Kings protests, there were dozens of arrests reported across several cities due to some instances of violence.