Thousands of people demonstrated against the Trump administration across the United States on Saturday, the third in a series of loosely coordinated nationwide “No King” rallies.
The day of protests, the first since October, comes as midterm election season is in full swing and Democrats seek to politicize their unpopular war with Iran.
Just one month ago, President Trump ordered the first U.S. attack on Iran, sparking a conflict that sent gas prices soaring and rattled Republicans.
No Kings organizers said war was a central force animating Saturday's rally, which drew about 8 million people, although in some cities it was higher than estimates by local security officials. But fighting in the Middle East was not the only issue on the minds of disaffected Democrats.
Here are five points.
The war seems to have galvanized young voters.
Many of the protesters said Saturday they had lost themselves to the war. And the conflict appears to be motivating young people, at least in some areas.
One large rally was held across the street from the University of Iowa, where the youth advocacy group Voters of Tomorrow collected signatures from students to organize.
Organizer Katie Gates, 22, said the participants were “much younger, more diverse and more energetic” than previous No Kings protests. She attributed some of this change to the war.
“Our generation has grown up with the idea that there will be endless wars in the Middle East,” Gates said. “And the idea of going into yet another company is something that people are understandably really upset about.”
Among those who took part in the protest was state Rep. Zach Walls, 34, who is running in the Democratic primary for Senate in Iowa. “I have yet to meet anyone who is interested in the recurrence of endless wars in the Middle East,” he said.
President Trump's immigration crackdown remains the focus.
Despite the Iran war dominating the national conversation, opposition to Trump's immigration crackdown and Immigration and Customs Enforcement remained a rallying cry Saturday.
Two Americans were killed by federal agents in Minnesota this winter as part of unrest over the Trump administration's immigration operation. (The administration last month ended the surge of federal workers in Minnesota in response to growing public criticism.)
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent progressive, spoke at a protest at the state Capitol in St. Paul. Bruce Springsteen sang a song about two citizens who died.
“This is America after all,” Springsteen said. “And this reactionary nightmare and invasion of American cities will not endure.”
In Minnesota, there were loud chants of “Let's end this war” and many signatures protesting the conflict.
Dana R. Fisher, a professor at American University who studies civic engagement and surveys protesters in Washington, said the percentage of people whose primary motivation was war and peace jumped significantly on Saturday compared to previous protests. But that was on par with the proportion citing concerns about the government's handling of immigration, she said.
Dueling protests were held near Mar-a-Lago.
Thousands of demonstrators gathered on a grassy public space near Target, about a 15-minute drive from Trump's Mar-a-Lago mansion in Palm Beach County, Florida, participants said. One demonstrator held a sign that read, “Get us before the midterm elections,” a reference to Trump's vulgar comments on tape about women from 2005.
The crowd included first-time Democratic candidate Emily Gregory, who won an upset victory last week to represent the region in the Florida state legislature.
She was welcomed like a celebrity on Saturday in a district that Trump won by 11 percentage points in 2024.
“Some people asked if that was really her,” said organizer Lacey Larson, 47.
The atmosphere at the gathering was primarily celebratory, with a DJ playing music by Mr. Springsteen, Bob Marley and Tracy Chapman. “There were great protests,” Gregory said in an interview.
But counter-protesters rallied to defend the county's most famous resident. They unfurled large pro-Trump flags and both sides shouted at each other.
The White House itself was mocking the nationwide protests. “The only people interested in these Trump confusion therapy sessions are the reporters who are paid to cover them,” spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said Thursday.
Mid-term candidates have emerged one after another.
From sunny Southern California to unseasonably cold northern New England, Democratic midterm election candidates took to the streets to vent their anger to voters about the Trump administration.
Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills, who is running for the U.S. Senate in one of the most-watched races this year, participated in three “No King” protests in and around Portland, the state's largest city and Democratic stronghold. His Democratic rival, oyster farmer Graham Platner, who is running as a political outsider, spoke at a protest in Aroostook County, the state's northernmost county, which Trump won by 26 points in 2024.
Mr. Mills and Mr. Platner are vying for a chance to run against Sen. Susan Collins, who is seen as one of the most vulnerable incumbents in the Republican Party.
In Michigan, state Rep. Mallory McMorrow, who is running in another high-profile Democratic Senate primary, attended a rally in a Detroit suburb. One of her leading rivals, U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, also joined her rival in downtown Detroit.
Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey, who is trying to fend off a Democratic primary challenge from Rep. Seth Moulton, also joined protests in Boston and its suburbs. Mr. Moulton attended a rally near Boston.
Some Democratic politicians seen as potential 2028 presidential candidates also joined in the action. Former Secretary of Transportation and 2020 presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg attended a rally in Traverse City, Michigan, where he lives. New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, who also ran for office in 2020, also participated in the protests in St. Louis. (He was in the city as part of a book tour.)
The Democratic Party has found new fuel to live up to its “No King” slogan.
Two days before the protests, the Treasury Department announced it would begin printing dollar bills bearing Trump's signature, the first time a sitting U.S. president has done so.
The move continues a trend seen by Trump, whose allies have sought to put his name on institutions and landmarks such as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the U.S. Institute of Peace. This initiative infuriated many critics, who accused him of being an ambitious monarch.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, the Senate Democratic campaign chair, on Saturday said she would support the protests and introduce legislation that would ban the president from putting his name, likeness or signature on federal property or money.
“In America, we do not bow to a king,” Gillibrand said in a statement.
wesley parnell contributed reporting from New York; Sheila M. Eldred Originally from Minneapolis.
