Anti-Trump Rallies Sweep US
REPORTER:
Around 2,500 protests against Donald Trump’s policies have taken place across the US and even beyond. This is the second wave of rallies held under the banner of the “No Kings” movement, which accuses Trump of acting like a monarch. With Trump allies dismissing the protests as anti-American or unimportant, the question now is how much the opposition movement can achieve.
REPORTER:
In big cities and small towns, and even near US President Donald Trump’s home, protests against Trump administration policies spread across the United States on Saturday. Organizers put together around 2,500 of these protests—part of a wider campaign under the banner of “No Kings” that views Trump more as a would-be monarch than a president.
REPORTER:
It’s the second wave of mass-rallies the movement has organized, and organizers say close to 7 million people turned out this time, with the rallies overwhelmingly peaceful.
REPORTER:
Protesters said they had many reasons to take to the streets. Trump's policies on immigration and deportation were on some of their minds.
BITE:
They're kidnapping people, not just taking them and it's very sad, and it's really frustrating. Sometimes, you cannot do much about that, but this is why we're here.
REPORTER:
Others are angered at National Guard deployments in US cities.
BITE:
Essentially, Donald Trump has been overreaching his powers as an executive, and we're all here to protest that and to basically say that he should not be able to conduct these overreaches of his power invading cities and basically showing the public is not willing to put up with that.
REPORTER:
And some said they’re concerned about the future of US democracy itself.
BITE:
I'm out here supporting democracy in a joyful way because we love America and we're here to protect our democracy and to protest for those who can't come out to protest.
BITE:
Oh boy, we do not even recognize our country anymore. Everything that makes this country great is disappearing - our rights are disappearing, as I said in my sign, freedom of speech is disappearing, separation of powers is disappearing, freedom of the press.
REPORTER:
In addition to rallies in all 50 states, there were also protests outside the US, like this one in Berlin. The question, though, is whether the energy on display can continue and whether it will make any change.
REPORTER:
Trump’s allies like House Speaker Mike Johnson have called the protests extremist and anti-American, and dismissed them as political theater.
Mike Johnson (HOUSE SPEAKER):
This rally is not about freedom. It's about the opposite. For many of our Democrat colleagues, tomorrow is about creating really a spectacle. That's what they've been doing here every day of the shutdown, with their little TikTok videos and their publicity stunts, and they're gonna do it in a much larger venue tomorrow.
REPORTER:
And Trump himself is expected to say he is not a king of any sort in a forthcoming interview with Fox News. The roughly 40% of Americans who, according to polls, approve of his job may be inclined to agree with him.
REPORTER:
Still, the rallies show millions of Americans are unhappy with the president’s actions. No Kings organizers already have a virtual event set for Tuesday to discuss what comes next, suggesting this may not be the last of the mass protests.
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