Sydney was the first to stage the march as it is hours ahead of American cities
No Kings No Tyrants - Courage is contagious
Large protests against the Trump administration are taking place in cities across the US, marking the third iteration of No Kings rallies that have previously drawn crowds into the millions.
No Kings protests across the US rally against Donald Trump
Protesters slam ‘madman, tyrant’ in anti-Trump rallies across the US
Washington | Tens of thousands of Americans took to the streets on Saturday (Sunday AEDT) to protest against President Donald Trump. But in one corner of the US capital, the crowd had another target in mind: White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller.
“Stephen Miller does seem to be responsible for the most cruel policies of the administration,” said Mark, a federal government employee who declined to give his name out of fear of repercussions. “In particular, the concentration camps that are being constructed to house immigrants before deportation. It’s a national shame.”
Protesters are taking to the streets in New York, Washington and Minneapolis to protest against US President Donald Trump.
Amid dozens of marches under the “No Kings” banner around Washington on Saturday, hundreds chose one starting in the poorer south-eastern suburbs along a route that passed Miller’s residence in Fort McNair.
The old army post, site of the National Defence Museum and National War College, is also home to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Miller, according to the protest website, was “the power behind the throne” of Trump’s presidency, and “has stoked white nationalist bigotry and hate, and he is amassing power but has no accountability”.
Mark, the protester, was inspired to come out on a sunny spring day because of “all of the things”. His motivation fits the No Kings brand of marches, which bring together a loose and disparate coalition of the president’s critics.
“We have a madman, tyrant for a president,” he said. “The shattering of constitutional norms is a big problem. Yep, going to war without a declaration, stealing the power of the purse from Congress. Trump just does whatever he wants.”
Demonstrators march over the Frederick Douglass Bridge in Washington, towards Fort McNair, where deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller resides, during the No Kings protest. AP
The No Kings movement, which takes its name from the idea that Trump is running the country like a monarch, has been building steam throughout his second term, becoming an outlet for those frustrated with the Trump administration’s policies.
On Saturday, more than 3200 events were planned in all 50 states, and organisers hoped it would be the largest single-day protest in US history.
The first major No Kings rally last June grew out of demonstrations in Los Angeles about the administration’s immigration crackdown in the city, and was timed with Trump’s military parade in the capital.
A second in October drew millions of participants from around the country.
Last year’s demonstrations focused on Trump’s raids targeting illegal immigrants, the use of federal troops to stem crime in major cities, the wiping out of federal workforces, the ripping up of climate change mitigation policies and the administration’s lack of a plan to improve affordability.
Huge crowd marching at the No Kings protest in New York on Saturday. AP
But the US-Israel war in Iran, now in its fifth week, has given protesters a new focus as the conflict drives up petrol prices and upends global markets.
The prolonged partial government shutdown, causing havoc in airports around the country, has also hurt Trump’s standing. The president’s approval rating has fallen to 36 per cent, its lowest point since his return to the White House, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.
On the National Mall in Washington on Saturday, the crowd chanted pro-democracy slogans and held anti-Trump signs.
Outside an aged care centre in Chevy Chase, Maryland, a group of elderly people in wheelchairs held signs encouraging passing cars to “resist tyranny”, “honk if you want democracy”, and “dump Trump”.
Republicans have bashed No Kings as ineffective and out of touch, with Trump once calling the marches a “joke” full of “whacked out” participants.
Demonstrators rally on the National Mall during the No Kings protest in Washington. AP
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson derided the demonstrations in a statement, saying: “The only people who care about these Trump derangement therapy sessions are the reporters who are paid to cover them.”
In Minnesota, about 100,000 people were expected to turn out at a rally at the state capitol. The state has become a flashpoint for Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigrants after US citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti were killed by federal agents earlier this year.
Back in Washington, one protester held a sign declaring “Pretti Good reason for a protest”.
Alice Mary Levine, a retired accountant holding a “No princes, no Miller” sign, said she joined the march past the home of Trump’s key policy mastermind because she was upset by the treatment of immigrant communities.
“I feel that he is a really poor person to be a confidant or consultant to our president.”
Demonstrators march over the Frederick Douglass Bridge during the No Kings protest. AP
Miller has been central to Trump’s hardline immigration policies and courted controversy for describing Good as an “assassin” and Pretti as “a domestic terrorist”.
Paige Trevor, a parenting coach, said she was “outraged” by “a war no one agrees with, no transparency, and injustice”. She was reassured by the protest turnout and said the administration was starting to “bring people out”.
But Mark was not so sure what the rest of the Trump term would bring.
“It fills me with an existential dread,” he said. “It will get worse as he feels more threatened, and he who knows what he’s capable of.”
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