DON GONYEA, HOST:
Many Americans took to the streets yesterday in protest against the policies of President Trump. It was the second wave of massive demonstrations organized by No Kings, a network of progressive groups opposed to the White House's agenda. Organizers say there were 2,600 registered events on Saturday, covering every state in the union. NPR's Martin Kaste has this wrap-up of the day.
MARTIN KASTE, BYLINE: The chant of, no kings, could be heard in parks and plazas across the country, from Columbia, South Carolina...
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Chanting) No kings. No kings.
KASTE: ...To Seattle, Washington, where a huge crowd gathered under the Space Needle to the old-timey sound of rebellious grunge music.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED MUSICAL GROUP: (Singing) Even now in Russia, they're retaking the Ukraine. Friend to North Korea. God, the world has gone insane. Insane.
KASTE: The events were mostly upbeat, with a lot of sightings of those newly popular inflatable frog and chicken costumes. Also popular - people dressed up as buffoonish, blonde-headed kings with very long red ties. But among the jokes were plenty of serious statements too - like the stark signs that read simply, rule of law.
Lucia Wroblewski was at the event in Minneapolis. She's a city council member in the town of Afton, Minnesota, and also a former police officer.
LUCIA WROBLEWSKI: The rule of law matters, and I'm begging our police and our military to do the right thing by the Constitution.
KASTE: She's also disturbed by how the administration responds to its critics.
WROBLEWSKI: They keep saying that we who are anti-fascist or Democrats are terrorists and fascists, and it's such a lie.
KASTE: South of there at the event in Frisco, Texas, self-described liberal Christian Cindy Daniels (ph) put it this way.
CINDY DANIELS: I think I am shocked by what is going on in our country and the apathy of so many people that don't see it or refuse to see it. It's really scary times for our country.
KASTE: The protesters who are focused on questions of rule of law talked about their unease with the way the president has sent National Guard troops to cities and states whose leaders don't want them, as well as the perception that Trump is using the Justice Department vindictively to prosecute his political enemies. But others were more focused on what they see as widespread self-dealing and corruption in the White House. In Seattle, Andrea McBeth (ph) carried a sign emblazoned with the word kakistocracy.
ANDREA MCBETH: Kakistocracy. It's a method of government which - and this is the dictionary explanation - government by the least qualified or most unprincipled citizens.
KASTE: McBeth acknowledged that there were plenty of other people around her with different grievances against the Trump administration - say, anger over the way immigration law is being enforced or the way the government is reducing gender identity back to male and female or cuts to social spending.
MCBETH: It's overwhelming. It - there's just too much to get mad about. You know, too much issue, not enough cardboard.
KASTE: Republicans have dismissed the No Kings rallies as a, quote, "hate America" movement. On Friday, President Trump told Fox News, quote, "they say they're referring to me as a king. I'm not a king." And he spent Saturday at Mar-a-Lago.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said the protests were purely partisan - a Democratic strategy to increase pressure on Republicans during the government shutdown. North Carolina Congresswoman Virginia Foxx simply tweeted in response to No Kings, quote, "Nobody asked. Nobody cares. The rest of America will be watching college football instead."
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED MUSICAL GROUP: (Singing) My America, let's get ready.
KASTE: Back in Seattle, John Imhoff (ph) stood alone near the back of the rally holding a homemade sign.
JOHN IMHOFF: Yeah. It says, we're becoming the kind of country we used to fight wars against.
KASTE: Imhoff served in the Air Force during the Vietnam era. Back then, he didn't think of himself as a political activist. But this time around? Well, here he was, holding this sign.
IMHOFF: We'll see if it does any good. If nothing else, you know, we can let history know what side we were on.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: No...
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: Kings.
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: No...
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: Kings.
KASTE: He said this moment feels a lot like things felt back in the late '60s. It's a lot of people, he said, and there's something going on here.
Martin Kaste, NPR News, Seattle. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
