In a spirited display of dissent, crowds gathered in Washington, D.C., and various other cities across the United States on Saturday. Rallying under the banner of “No Kings,” these demonstrators voiced their discontent with the direction the country is taking under President Donald Trump’s leadership. Despite criticism from the Republican Party, which labeled the events as “Hate America” rallies, the mood was one of resilience and patriotism.

Participants carried signs with slogans such as “Nothing is more patriotic than protesting” and “Resist Fascism,” infusing the protests with an almost celebratory atmosphere. Marching bands played lively tunes, a massive banner featuring the preamble of the U.S. Constitution—”We The People”—was available for signatures, and many donned inflatable costumes, notably frogs. These costumes have become a symbol of resistance, particularly in Portland, Oregon, underscoring the creative spirit of the movement.

This demonstration marks the third large-scale mobilization since Trump’s re-election, occurring amidst a tense government shutdown. The shutdown not only brings federal programs to a halt but also challenges the traditional balance of power within the U.S. government. Protest organizers caution that the President’s confrontational stance towards Congress and the judiciary suggests an alarming drift towards authoritarianism.

While these protests unfolded across the nation, President Trump spent the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. In a Fox News interview aired on Friday, before attending a high-profile $1 million-per-plate MAGA Inc. fundraiser at his club, Trump remarked, “They say they’re referring to me as a king. I’m not a king,” addressing the criticism head-on.

“They say they’re referring to me as a king. I’m not a king,” Trump said in a Fox News interview that aired early Friday, before he departed for a $1 million-per-plate MAGA Inc. fundraiser at his club.

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.

Nationwide demonstrations

People packed into New York City’s Times Square, Boston Common and Chicago’s Grant Park; outside state capitols in several Republican-led states and a courthouse in Billings, Montana; and at hundreds of smaller public spaces.

In Washington, Iraq War Marine veteran Shawn Howard said he had never participated in a protest before but was motivated to show up because of what he sees as the Trump administration’s “disregard for the law.” He said immigration detentions without due process and deployments of troops in U.S. cities are “un-American” and alarming signs of eroding democracy.

“I fought for freedom and against this kind of extremism abroad,” said Howard, who added that he also worked at the CIA for 20 years on counter-extremism operations. “And now I see a moment in America where we have extremists everywhere who are, in my opinion, pushing us to some kind of civil conflict.”

In San Francisco hundreds of people spelled out “No King!” and other phrases with their bodies on Ocean Beach. Hayley Wingard, who was dressed as the Statue of Liberty, said she too had never been to a protest before. Only recently she began to view Trump as a “dictator.”

“I was actually OK with everything until I found that the military invasion in Los Angeles and Chicago and Portland – Portland bothered me the most, because I’m from Portland, and I don’t want the military in my cities. That’s scary,” Wingard said.

Salt Lake City demonstrators gathered outside the Utah State Capitol to share messages of hope and healing after a protester was fatally shot during the city’s first “No Kings” march in June.

And more than 1,500 people gathered in Birmingham, Alabama, evoking and the city’s history of protests and the critical role it played in the Civil Rights Movement two generations ago.

“It just feels like we’re living in an America that I don’t recognize,” said Jessica Yother, a mother of four. She and other protesters said they felt camaraderie by gathering in a state where Trump won nearly 65% of the vote last November.

“It was so encouraging,” Yother said. “I walked in and thought, ‘Here are my people.’”

Organizers hope to build opposition movement

“Big rallies like this give confidence to people who have been sitting on the sidelines but are ready to speak up,” Democratic U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy said in an interview with The Associated Press.

While protests earlier this year – against Elon Musk’s cuts and Trump’s military parade – drew crowds, organizers say this one is uniting the opposition. Top Democrats such as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders are joining what organizers view as an antidote to Trump’s actions, from the administration’s clampdown on free speech to its military-style immigration raids.

More than 2,600 rallies were planned Saturday, organizers said. The national march against Trump and Musk this spring had 1,300 registered locations, while the first “No Kings” day in June registered 2,100.

“We’re here because we love America,” Sanders said, addressing the crowd from a stage in Washington. He said the American experiment is “in danger” under Trump but insisted, “We the people will rule.”

Republican critics denounce the demonstrations
Republicans sought to portray protesters as far outside the mainstream and a prime reason for the government shutdown, now in its 18th day.

From the White House to Capitol Hill, GOP leaders called them “communists” and “Marxists.” They said Democratic leaders including Schumer are beholden to the far-left flank and willing to keep the government shut to appease those liberal forces.

“I encourage you to watch – we call it the Hate America rally – that will happen Saturday,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana.

“Let’s see who shows up for that,” Johnson said, listing groups including “antifa types,” people who “hate capitalism” and “Marxists in full display.”

Many demonstrators, in response, said they were meeting such hyperbole with humor, noting that Trump often leans heavily on theatrics such as claiming that cities he sends troops to are war zones.

“So much of what we’ve seen from this administration has been so unserious and silly that we have to respond with the same energy,” said Glen Kalbaugh, a Washington protester who wore a wizard hat and held a sign with a frog on it.

New York police reported no arrests during the protests.

Democrats try to regain their footing amid shutdown

Democrats have refused to vote on legislation that would reopen the government as they demand funding for health care. Republicans say they are willing to discuss the issue later, only after the government reopens.

The situation is a potential turnaround from just six months ago, when Democrats and their allies were divided and despondent. Schumer in particular was berated by his party for allowing an earlier government funding bill to sail through the Senate without using it to challenge Trump.

“What we are seeing from the Democrats is some spine,” said Ezra Levin, a co-founder of Indivisible, a key organizing group. “The worst thing the Democrats could do right now is surrender.”

Associated Press journalists Gary Fields, Lisa Mascaro and Kevin Freking in Washington, Jill Colvin and Joseph Frederick in New York, Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina, Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City, Terry Chea in San Francisco, Chris Megerian in West Palm Beach, Florida, Bill Barrow in Birmingham, Alabama, and Safiya Riddle in Montgomery, Alabama, contributed.