Nationwide No Kings Protests Draw Crowds Against Trump Administration

Glen Kalbaugh arrived at Saturday's Washington, D.C. rally wearing a wizard hat and carrying a sign with a frog on it. Standing among the crowds gathered near the nation's capital, he was far from the only protester who dressed for effect. That was the point.

"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," Kalbaugh said. Many demonstrators described responding to what they see as administration theatrics with deliberate absurdity, a tone that ran through protests in Washington, New York City, Chicago, and hundreds of other cities Saturday.

The rallies marked the third installment of the "No Kings" movement, organized against President Donald Trump and his administration's efforts to expand executive power. Crowd estimates varied widely: organizers cited 3,300 rallies and 9 million attendees nationwide, while separate reporting broadly described millions turning out across the country.

The day's centerpiece was the flagship rally at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul, where organizers expected upwards of 100,000 people. Bruce Springsteen headlined the event with his song "Streets of Minneapolis," sharing the bill with folk legend Joan Baez, actor Jane Fonda, and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, along with a roster of labor leaders, local activists, and elected officials. Ezra Levin, a cofounder of the activist group spearheading the events, said Minnesota was chosen because the state had faced "some of the most horrific, sadistic behavior you can imagine" from the Trump administration.

In New York City, actor Robert De Niro delivered remarks at the local rally. In Chicago, demonstrators in inflatable costumes marched through the streets, one of the more visually striking scenes of the day.

President Trump spent the weekend at Mar-a-Lago, his estate in Palm Beach, Florida. He had departed the day before for a $1 million-per-plate MAGA Inc. fundraiser at his club, with protests expected nearby on Saturday. In a Fox News interview that aired early Friday, he addressed the movement's central charge directly. "They say they're referring to me as a king. I'm not a king," Trump said.

His Republican Party framed the day's events differently. The party labeled the demonstrations "Hate America" rallies.

The third installment drew a notably higher-profile roster than its predecessors. Having Springsteen headline the same stage as a sitting senator in St. Paul signaled how broadly the coalition has grown. Levin's choice of Minnesota as the flagship location gave the event geographic specificity: rather than centering the movement in Washington, organizers planted their largest single gathering in a state they argue has been disproportionately targeted by administration policy.

Whether the attendance figures cited by organizers prove accurate, the scale of Saturday's mobilization was visible across multiple cities at once, from the wizard-hatted protesters in Washington to the inflatable costumes filling Chicago sidewalks.