Massive nationwide protests againstUS President Donald Trumpkicked off Saturday as millions of people vent fury over what they see as his authoritarian bent and other forms of cruel, law-trampling governance.
It is the third time in less than a year that Americans will take to the streets as part of a grassroots movement called "No Kings", the most vocal and visual conduit for opposition to Trump since he began his second term in January 2025.
And now they have something new to fume over thewar in Iranthat Trump launched alongside Israel, withever-shifting goalsand timelines for completion.
"No country can govern without the consent of the people," 36-year-old military veteran Marc McCaughey told AFP in Atlanta.
"We're out here because we feel that the Constitution is under threat in a multitude of different ways. Things aren't normal. They aren't okay."
In the Michigan town of West Bloomfield, near Detroit, people braved below-freezing temperatures to protest.
And in the capital, Washington, marchers -- some carrying banners that blared "Trump Must Go Now!" and "Fight Fascism" -- walked across a bridge over the Potomac River to the Lincoln Memorial, site of historic civil rights demonstrations of years past.
Thefirst such nationwide protest daycame in June on Trump's 79th birthday and coincided with a military parade in Washington that he insisted on holding.
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Several million people turned out, from New York to San Francisco and many places in between.
Thesecond "No Kings" day in Octoberdrew an estimated seven million protesters, according to organizers.
Protests are alsoscheduled across major world citiesincluding London, Paris, Vienna and Madrid.
The goal now is to bring out even more people on Saturday, as Trump's approval rating is low at around 40 percent and midterm elections loom in November, when Trump's Republicans could lose control of both chambers.
Just as Trump is worshipped by many in his "Make America Great Again" movement, on the other side of America's wide political chasm he is disliked or even loathed with equal passion.
Trump foes bemoan his penchant for ruling by executive decree, his use of the Justice Department to prosecute opponents, his embrace of fossil fuels andclimate changedenial even as the planet warms, his fight against racial and genderdiversityprograms, and his newfound taste for flexingUS militarypower after campaigning as a man ofpeace.
"Since the last time we marched, this administration has dragged us deeper into war," said Naveed Shah of Common Defense, a veterans association that belongs to the "No Kings" movement.
"At home, we've watched citizens killed in the streets by militarized forces. We've seen families torn apart and immigrant communities targeted. All of it done in the name of one man trying to rule like a king," Shah said.
Springsteen in Minneapolis
Organisers say more than 3,000 rallies are planned, an increase from the last protest day, in major cities coast to coast and in suburbs and rural areas even in the Alaskan town of Kotzebue, above the Arctic circle.
Minnesota will be a key focal point, returning to the limelight months after becoming ground zero for the national debate overTrump's violent immigration crackdown.
Legendary rockerBruce Springsteen, a fierce critic of the president, is scheduled to perform in St. Paul, the capital of the northern state, his song "Streets ofMinneapolis".
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It is a ballad he wrote and recorded in the space of 24 hours in memory ofRenee GoodandAlex Pretti, Americans shot and killed by federal agents during protests in frigid January weather against Trump'simmigrationoffensive.
"Masked secretpoliceterrorising our communities. An illegal, catastrophic war putting us in danger and driving up our costs. Attacks on our freedom of speech, ourcivil rights, our freedom to vote. Costs pushing families to the brink. Trump wants to rule over us as a tyrant," the "No Kings" movement said.
It said what began in 2025 as a simple day of defiance has mushroomed into a powerful movement of national resistance to the Trump administration.
Organizers say two-thirds of those who plan to rally Saturday do not live in big cities, which in America are often Democratic strongholds a data point that is up sharply since the lastprotest.
"America is at an inflection point," said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers.
"People are afraid, and they can't afford basic necessities. It's time the administration listened and helped them build a better life rather than stoking hate and fear."
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
Originally published on France24
