On Saturday, October 18, the No Kings Protests swept the nation. From New York City to Southern California, millions of Americans participated in peaceful protests against President Trump’s administration. Certain European cities like London, Berlin, Stockholm, and Rome joined in as well. Started by Indivisible, a progressive organization established in 2016, and continued through local grassroots organizations, the No Kings Protests stand in defiance of Trump’s increasingly stringent immigration and deportation policies. The movement is in response to what protesters are calling Trump’s abuse of power. Participants were advised against bringing weapons, even if legal, in order to maintain the non-violent aspect of the protests.
Saturday featured the second iteration of these protests, the first being in June 2025 and coinciding with Trump’s birthday and a military procession. This weekend’s movement saw a larger number of participants than the summer’s, with Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen, saying, “Since we last did this, people have become far more aware of what is going wrong with this administration.”
In the Stevens area, large protest hubs included Weehawken, Guttenberg, and Jersey City’s City Hall. Some local Hoboken groups gathered those interested and joined Manhattan processions. In New York City, more than 100,000 demonstrators gathered across all five boroughs. The day ended with zero protest-related arrests.
Many Republican lawmakers pointed to far-left activism when asked about the protests, with House Speaker Mike Johnson dubbing the No Kings Protests as the “Hate America Rally,” adding that “it’ll be a collection of wild leftist policy priorities, and that’ll be on display for the whole country.” Many Republicans berate their Democratic counterparts for not coming to a consensus on the budget, with Johnson stating he “hope[s] there’s a few Democrats over here who will come to their senses and return to governing the country.”
Demonstrators coast-to-coast reported feeling optimistic, hoping the protests would incite change within the White House. The Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC) said to their followers: “We’ll be in the streets for immigrant families under attack and for voters who are being silenced. For communities being terrorized by militarized policing. For families who are about to lose their health insurance. And for every single person whose rights are threatened by this administration’s cruelty,” via email.
In response to the speaker’s comments and framing the protests as a Hate America rally, Indivisible’s co-executive Director Leah Greenberg believes there is a point to Johnson being unable to say the name of the protests, and that it is because “if you say the name of the protest, ‘No Kings,’ the entire argument falls apart … there is nothing more American than saying that we don’t have kings and exercising our right to peaceful protest.”
