'No Kings' protests target Trump policies amid military parade

Chanting protesters flooded streets across cities and neighborhoods in the United States since Saturday morning for 'No Kings' Day, rallying against the Trump administration across multiple policy areas.

The demonstrations spread in waves throughout the day, stretching from Washington, D.C. to major cities including New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Philadelphia and Chicago.

Roughly 2,000 protests unfolded across the US — and in countries including Mexico, across Europe, and South America — to counter President Donald Trump and his administration, as a military parade marched through Washington, D.C.

"In America, we don't do kings," reads the "No Kings" website, run by the organizers alongside a coalition of about 100 groups, organized the nationwide protest. "They've defied our courts, deported Americans, disappeared people off the streets, attacked our civil rights, and slashed our services. The corruption has gone too far. No thrones. No crowns. No kings."

Police presence and security protocols were also heightened nationwide. In Texas, Republican Governor Greg Abbott deployed the state's National Guard ahead of 'No Kings' Day and in response to ongoing protests over Trump's immigration agenda. In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis drew backlash after stating that drivers could legally run over protesters if surrounded — a comment critics say encourages violence against demonstrators.

As the administration slashes funding for federal agencies, it spent an estimated $25 million to $45 million on a military parade in Washington, D.C., marking the 250th anniversary of the US Army. The event, which coincided with Trump's 79th birthday, featured nearly 6,600 troops, tanks, armored vehicles and helicopters.

"They could have used that money to keep me employed or something. Why is there 45 million dollars going to a parade? There are a lot more unemployed people right now who need that," Blair Retnauer, a resident of Washington D.C.–Maryland–Virginia (DMV), told China Daily, adding that the Department of Government Efficiency recently ended her contract as a graphic designer with the federal agency Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate.

"I care about our freedom. I care about the fact that immigrants are people. Families are being broken up and snatched from their homes. Children are left without their parents. This is the cruelest that we've ever been," Beverly Howard, of Fairfax, told China Daily during the "No Kings" protest.

"I cannot imagine a country that is so cruel and heartless," she said. "I have been watching what's been going on in our country and it is absolutely appalling. I had no choice but to protest."

Pedro Gonzalez, an immigration attorney based in Northern Virginia, told China Daily that he decided to join the rally — his first protest — in response to the current administration's crackdown on immigration policies.

"It really does hurt a lot of people. It really scares a lot of people. Mostly everyone, in one way or another, is either an immigrant, knows an immigrant, or has family who were immigrants. That's the biggest issue for me," he said, adding that the administration's actions have impacted people without citizenship at different levels, while the administration's border policy also bothered him.

"To me, it's just bad governance. Any cuts to social safety nets like Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security, or giving more breaks to wealthy corporations — that doesn't help people. It's going to hurt me, it's going to hurt everyone. That's the big driver for me," he added.

In the New York area, demonstrations are planned at Bryant Park and Columbia University in Manhattan, among other places in other boroughs and in New Jersey, as well as the northern suburbs.

Some small-scale protests against the Trump administration have already been taking place since national troops entered LA. During the past week, nearly around 120 people were arrested in New York City.

"People care," Meg Fagan, 56, told China Daily. "They're showing up to fight for our rights — for everybody's rights. Our constitutional rights are being violated at every turn. We have the right to free speech, the right to due process, and the right to live and work in peace. People pay taxes. People have the right to be here. Everyone deserves a joyful life without the fear of being disappeared."

She added that the president's recent actions go too far.

"This is an extreme overreach of his powers. It's unheard of for a president to unleash the National Guard this way — he's absolutely overstepped his authority."

"We care about our democracy. We care about our way of life. And everything they're doing is trying to destroy that. The cuts to government programs, the things we've paid into our whole lives — they're trying to take all of that from working people and turn this into a country for oligarchs. That's not what America is supposed to be," Susan Clayton, 72, of New York, told China Daily.

Despite concerns about police clashes in other cities, she emphasized the need for nonviolence. "Our power is in being peaceful — and in our numbers," she said.

"We want to protest as well because it's not just adults that should be protesting," 15-year-old protester Christina Heiney, of Massachusetts, told China Daily.

Los Angeles, a focal point for recent immigration raids, has become the center of a standoff between the Trump administration and the state government over the deployment of National Guard and US Marine troops. The city is currently under curfew amid heightened tensions.

"No King in the USA," read a sign held by Michael, who joined the demonstration in Los Angeles on Saturday. The sign featured a photo of Trump with a cross beside it.

"I can't write it all on the sign," he said. "But that was a huge mistake."

While protests on the East Coast largely wrapped up by 6 pm, the military parade was moved up due to an approaching storm. Trump supporters had been eagerly awaiting the event, especially following the earlier clashes.

The Golden Knights parachute team opened the parade with an impressive jump from the sky, followed by soldiers in period uniforms and vintage military vehicles representing different wars marching across the parade grounds.

The earlier chants of protest gave way to cheers from a different crowd, as people gathered to celebrate the Army's 250th anniversary and the president's birthday.

Sam Swartz, a 23-year-old from Jacksonville, Florida, was excited to honor both Trump and the military at the parade. He joined his friends holding a sign that read, "Happy Birthday U.S. Army and Trump."

"It's a big day," he told the NBC. "It seems kind of crazy that both the Army's national birthday and Trump's birthday is on the same day, it just seems like a perfect opportunity to come and visit."