“A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.” So said our Founding Fathers of mad King George III, in a declaration signed on a rainy summer day 249 years ago. (We know it was raining because that’s how they depicted it in the Broadway musical 1776 and musicals don’t lie!) And so it was on Saturday, Flag Day, when millions of people of all walks of life gathered across these United States on another rainy day to protest another mentally-unstable tyrant. The fact that the date was also his birthday, well that was just a bonus for us. Only instead of those 25 eloquent words quoted above from Thomas Jefferson, the rallies on Saturday boiled our sentiments down to one essential principle: No Kings.
Masses of demonstrators packed into streets, parks and plazas across the United States on Saturday to protest President Donald Trump, marching through downtowns and small towns, blaring anti-authoritarian chants mixed with support for protecting democracy and immigrant rights.
Organizers of the “No Kings” demonstrations said millions had marched in hundreds of events. Governors across the U.S. had urged calm and vowed no tolerance for violence, while some mobilized the National Guard ahead of marchers gathering.
Confrontations were isolated. But police in Los Angeles, where protests over federal immigration enforcement raids erupted a week earlier and sparked demonstrations across the country, used tear gas and crowd-control munitions to clear out protestors after the formal event ended. Officers in Portland also fired tear gas and projectiles to disperse a crowd that protested in front of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building well into the evening.
…Huge, boisterous crowds marched, danced, drummed, and chanted shoulder-to-shoulder in New York, Denver, Chicago, Austin and Los Angeles, some behind “no kings” banners. Atlanta’s 5,000-capacity event quickly reached its limit, with thousands more gathered outside barriers to hear speakers in front of the state Capitol. Officials in Seattle estimated that more than 70,000 people attended the city’s largest rally downtown, the Seattle Times reported.
Trump was in Washington for a military parade marking the Army’s 250th anniversary that coincides with the president’s birthday. About 200 protesters assembled in northwest Washington’s Logan Circle and chanted “Trump must go now” before erupting in cheers. A larger-than-life puppet of Trump — a caricature of the president wearing a crown and sitting on a golden toilet — was wheeled through the crowd.
…“Today, across red states and blue, rural towns and major cities, Americans stood in peaceful unity and made it clear: we don’t do kings,” the No Kings Coalition said in a statement Saturday afternoon after many events had ended.
Truthfully, Trump fulfills so many of the ills described in the Declaration of Independence, I’m starting to wonder if Benjamin Franklin invented time travel along with the lightning rod: He has refused his assent to laws; he has obstructed the administration of justice; he has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people; and I could go on and on. Sadly, it all fits. Anyway, thank you, America, for giving this president the birthday gift he deserves. I’d say give the man one of the new Declaration/Constitution hardcover books that Random House is releasing next month, since he could clearly do with the brush up. But we all know Sleepy Mango doesn’t read, let alone a hardcover being too heavy for his baby-fisted hands.
As always these days, I find the many fantastic demonstrations of resistance to be rather bittersweet. On the one hand, it’s thrilling and empowering and emotional to see people — old and young, civilian and celebrity alike — show up to defend our democracy. So… where was this turn out in November?!? I know I’m not the only one thinking this, as at least one person in Philadelphia marched with a sign that said “If she won, we’d be at lunch right now.” I’d also like to give a special shout out to my home city, San Francisco, for pulling off a picture perfect human banner on Ocean Beach that read “NO KING!” complete with border and an upside down flag. More human banners, less tear gas, please.
So proud to be a part of this amazing morning. Location ocean beach San Francisco
#nokings— Ilanit (illy) (@imanor.bsky.social) June 14, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Massive #NoKings march in New York City!
— Dr. Lucky Tran (@luckytran.com) June 14, 2025 at 3:24 PM
#Nokings
San Diego— Firehawk (@firehawkjw.bsky.social) June 14, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Photos credit: William T. Wade Jr./Photography/Avalon, William T. Wade Jr./Photography/Avalon, Robert Bell/INSTARimages, Victor M. Matos/TheNews2/Cover Images, Niyi Foto/TheNews2/Cover Images