They came, they saw, they costumed. An estimated seven million demonstrators took to the streets across nearly 3,000 US cities on Saturday for the second No Kings protests — up from over five million at the first No Kings protests in June, and the three-to-five million who attended the Hands Off rallies in April. And yes, many of our fellow Americans were donning costumes (including one very lucky unicorn in LA who scored a pic with Pedro Pascal), not so much to celebrate it being the month of Halloween, but more as a nod to the citizens of Portlandia who have been objecting to the unwarranted National Guard troops sent in by the president king last month. It’s a clever tactic, as one costume-clad protester noted over the weekend: “I think it’s really hard to call something a war zone when you look at something and it’s just a block party and people in Halloween costumes.” Exactly. CNN reported snapshots of the scenes in several major cities:
Chicago: In the epicenter of Trump’s immigration crackdown, thousands rallied with homemade signs and “Hands Off Chicago” posters, waving upside-down American flags along with a few Mexican and Pride flags. Protestors told CNN immigration raids, cuts to Medicaid and other policies were among the reasons for demonstrating Saturday.
Los Angeles: Demonstrators in inflatable costumes waving American flags dotted the streets of LA in a rebuttal to the president’s characterization of protests. “I think it’s really hard to call something a war zone when you look at something and it’s just a block party and people in Halloween costumes,” one protester told CNN.
Washington, DC: Current and former federal employees took to Pennsylvania Avenue on Day 18 of the government shutdown, rallying for calmer political rhetoric. One furloughed federal employee protesting Saturday told CNN she’s losing sleep over worries about her job and paying bills.
New York City: In an already hectic Times Square, crowds of protesters stretched for several blocks as demonstrations moved toward Lower Manhattan. One demonstrator told CNN she has been protesting since the 1960s, holding a sign reading: “We protest because we love America, and we want it back.”
Atlanta: In Georgia’s capital city, protesters rallied to honor the city’s deep-rooted civil rights legacy. Saturday’s demonstration set a powerful tone for the national day of protest; a peaceful but urgent call to protect democracy, reject hate and continue the legacy of those who marched before.
It’s so invigorating to see that not only are we rallying against this nonsense with more regularity than during the first term sentence, we’re also showing up in greater numbers each time. And we’re keeping it largely peaceful! (Although tear gas was used in LA and some arrests were made in Colorado.) While this iteration of No Kings protests didn’t have the added bonus of falling on the tyrant’s birthday, we have the satisfaction of knowing the rallies roiled Trump. He started off the weekend by lamely rebutting, “I’m not a king.” But by the day of, after watching seven million people unite to proclaim their profound objection to him, then Trump was singing a different tune. His baby fists got hold of the unholy match of social media and AI, which led to him posting an AI video of himself as both king and fighter jet pilot, “bombing” protestors in his hometown of NYC with… a brown liquid substance. I think my favorite bit is the people who’ve pointed out that the oxygen mask he wears in the video doesn’t cover his nose and mouth, which you could interpret as yet another example of the inadequacies of AI, or view it as AI slyly being on our side. Either works. And of course the official White House Twitter/X handle followed suit, posting an image of Trump and Just Dance Vance in crowns, with Minority Leaders Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer in sombreros. No Kings, all the way. But also, how about No Kids as the elected administration in the White House?
Last item: Back in June, I gave a special shout out to my home city San Francisco for executing an excellent human banner on Ocean Beach that read “NO KING!” They did it again! Same city same beach, but even better. This time the human banner spelled “NO KINGS” on one line, with “YES ON 50” underneath it (referring to the proposition to redraw district maps), plus a three-person wide border framing the whole thing. 10s across the board!
I have never seen such a perfect image pic.twitter.com/dh12nZXPIN
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) October 20, 2025
Photos credit: Hollywood To You/Backgrid, TheNews2/Cover Images, Be Like Water Media/Backgrid, MediaPunch/Backgrid, Getty