'No Kings' Protests Draw Millions Across US And Europe Against Trump Administration
Outlook News Desk
Curated by: Pritha Vahsishth
Published at: 29 March 2026
Protest near the Washington State Capitol building | Photo: AP/Lindsey Wasson
Summary of this article
Organizers claim millions participated in over 3,000 "No Kings" rallies held across all 50 US states and in more than a dozen countries including European cities like London, Paris, Berlin, and Rome, marking the third major wave of demonstrations since President Trump took office in 2025.
Protesters voiced opposition to the ongoing war with Iran, aggressive immigration enforcement, rising cost of living, and what they describe as authoritarian tendencies and expansion of executive power by the Trump administration.
The flagship event in Minnesota, headlined by Bruce Springsteen, drew large crowds at the State Capitol, while Republican officials dismissed the protests as "Hate America" or "Trump Derangement" events; turnout estimates vary, with previous rounds in 2025 drawing 5–7 million according to organizers.
Large-scale "No Kings" protests unfolded across the United States and parts of Europe, with organizers describing the day as one of the biggest mobilizations against the Trump administration to date. Demonstrations took place in more than 3,000 locations spanning all 50 states, from major cities like New York, Washington D.C., and Los Angeles to small towns and suburban areas. Solidarity events were also held in over a dozen countries, including rallies in London, Paris, Berlin, Madrid, and Rome, often organized by groups like Democrats Abroad.
The protests, the third in a series that began in 2025, focused on several key grievances: US involvement in the war with Iran, strict immigration policies including enforcement actions that have drawn criticism, and broader concerns over rising living costs and perceived overreach of presidential authority/
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In Minnesota, which served as the flagship venue, thousands gathered at the State Capitol in St. Paul, where musician Bruce Springsteen performed to highlight local resistance to federal immigration measures. Protesters carried signs reading "Democracy Has No Kings" and chanted against what they called authoritarian rule.
Previous "No Kings" events reportedly drew millions , with organizers citing around 5 million in June 2025 and nearly 7 million in October 2025, and Saturday's turnout was expected to be significant, though independent verification of exact numbers remains challenging amid varying claims. Events remained largely peaceful, though some states had mobilized National Guard units as a precaution. In European cities, smaller but symbolic gatherings saw participants adapt messaging — using phrases like "No Tyrants" in monarchies such as the UK, Spain, and Sweden to avoid confusion.
Huge crowds of protesters rallied across the world, but mainly in the United States on Saturday against President Donald Trump, venting their fury over what they see as his authoritarian style of governing, his hardline immigration policies and the war with Iran.
Issued on: 29/03/2026 - RFI
Organizers said "at least 8 million people gathered today at more than 3,300 events across all 50 states," from big cities and small towns. US authorities provided no national crowd estimate.
It was the third time in less than a year that Americans have taken to the streets as part of a grassroots movement called "No Kings," the most vocal and visual conduit for opposition to Trump since he began his second term in January 2025.
In New York, America's most populous city, tens of thousands of demonstrators rallied, including Oscar-winning actor Robert De Niro, a frequent Trump critic, who called the president "an existential threat to our freedoms and security."
Protests unfolded from Atlanta to San Diego, with Alaskans joining the mix later in the day.
"No country can govern without the consent of the people," 36-year-old military veteran Marc McCaughey told French press agency AFP in Atlanta, where thousands turned out.
"We're out here because we feel that the Constitution is under threat in a multitude of different ways. Things aren't normal. They aren't okay."
In the Michigan town of West Bloomfield, near Detroit, people braved below-freezing temperatures to protest.
And in the US capital Washington, thousands of marchers -- some carrying banners that blared "Trump Must Go Now!" and "Fight Fascism" -- flocked to the National Mall.
"He keeps lying and lying and lying and lying, and no one says anything. So it's a terrible situation we're in," 67-year-old retiree Robert Pavosevich told AFP.
Trump himself was in Florida for the weekend.
The anti-Trump mood has spilled beyond US borders, with rallies Saturday in European cities including Paris, Amsterdam, Madrid and Rome, where 20,000 people marched under a heavy police presence. Hundreds of people also gathered at the Place de la République in Paris, including Americans who reside in France.
The first "No Kings" nationwide protest day came last June on Trump's 79th birthday and coincided with a military parade he organized in Washington. Several million people turned out, from New York to San Francisco.
The second such protest, in October, drew an estimated seven million protesters, according to organizers, who said Saturday's events saw one million more participants and 600 additional demonstrations.
(With newswires)
In San Francisco, thousands of anti-Trump activists gathered on a local beach to form a human sign that read, “Trump must go now! No ICE, no wars, no lies, no kings.”
Demonstrators carry a “No Kings” banner along Market Street at a “No Kings” protest on March 28, 2026 in San Francisco, California. This is the third nationwide “No Kings” protest held against the Trump administration.
(Photo by Benjamin Fanjoy/Getty Images)
Brad Reed
Mar 28, 2026
Millions of American across all 50 states on Saturday rallied against President Donald Trump and his authoritarian agenda during nationwide No Kings protests.
The flagship No Kings rally in Minneapolis, which organizers Indivisible estimated drew over 200,000 demonstrators, featured speeches from Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and US Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), and actress Jane Fonda, as well as a special performance from rock icon Bruce Springsteen, who performed “Streets of Minneapolis,” a song he wrote in tribute of slain protesters Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
Organizers called it “the largest single-day nationwide demonstrations in US history,” with an estimate 8 million people coming out for events in communities and cities nationwide.
From major cities to rural towns that have never seen mobilizations like this before, protesters made clear that in America, we don’t do kings,“ the No Kings coalition said in a statement.
“This is what it looks like when a movement grows—not just in size, but in reach, in courage, and in more people who see themselves as part of this movement,” the organizers said. “The American people are fed up with this administration’s power grabs, an illegal war that Congress and the public haven’t approved, and the continued attempts to stifle our freedoms. We’re not waiting for change; we’re making it.”
The rally in Minneapolis was one of more than 3,300 No Kings events across the US and internationally, and aerial video footage showed massive crowds gathered for demonstrations in cities including Washington, DC, New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, and San Diego.
In San Francisco, thousands of anti-Trump activists gathered on a local beach to form a human sign that read, “Trump must go now! No ICE, no wars, no lies, no kings.”
However, No Kings rallies weren’t just held in major US cities. In a series of social media posts, Indivisible co-founder Leah Greenberg collected photos and videos of No Kings events in communities including Arvada, Colorado, Madison, New Jersey, and St. Augustine, Florida, as well as international No Kings events held in London and Madrid.
Attendance estimates for Saturday’s No Kings protests were not available as of this writing. Polling analyst G. Elliott Morris estimated that the previous No Kings event, held in October, drew at least 5 million people nationwide, making it likely “the largest single-day political protest ever.”
Demonstrators attend a "No Kings" protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's administration policies, in Portland, Oregon, March 28, 2026. REUTERS/John Rudoff
President Donald Trump is increasingly unpopular, as the No Kings protests demonstrate — and this means that right now “the public is leading the elites” in standing up for democracy, at least according to one conservative commentator.
“This all ends with enough of us saying no,” conservative commentator William Kristol said on his website The Bulwark on Sunday. “The bad news is that Trump is president for the next almost three years, and in the sense that we don't have a parliamentary system, his poll numbers could go down further and people could turn out even more.”
Kristol added, “But hopefully the elites — I feel like the public is now leading the elites by quite a lot. It's so striking, right? In terms of turning against Trump, you see it in the polls, but also in the turnout for 'No Kings.' And the elitist institutions are still accommodating Trump to a somewhat shocking degree.”
According to polling analyst G. Elliott Morris, an October No Kings event drew at least 5 million people all over America, marking it as the “largest single-day political protest ever.” Even though repeatedly claims he won the 2024 presidential election in a “landslide” (in fact he won the popular vote by roughly 1.5 percent, with less than a majority of 50 percent). MSNBC reporter Antonia Hylton found that one October event in New York City “far exceeded” the original estimated turnout of 200,000.
Kristol, despite being a lifelong conservative Republican, has repeatedly and emphatically criticized Trump for what he argues are the president’s assaults against American democracy. In February, as Trump continued dragging his feet on releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files and said he was “sad” at the arrest of the UK’s former Prince Andrew, Kristol wrote that “there is no evidence the Trump administration has any interest in seeing justice done, or any intention of having the truth come out. We have an executive branch that is on the side of the Epstein class, not the Epstein survivors.”
In February, Kristol praised Americans like Minneapolis residents who protected Trump’s ICE and its brutal deportation of immigrants.
“The American people are better than our current government,” Kristol said. “Civic spirit and enlightened patriotism are by no means dead in the United States. As the people of Minnesota have again reminded us.” He also argued that Trump administration officials do not understand the principles of the American revolution that they claim to honor.
“The administration in which Rubio serves pretends to celebrate that revolution, but hates the abstract truth which animated that revolution and which elevates it above merely another mundane struggle for power or profit,” Kristol said. “The Trump administration hates that fact because it is a reminder that there is more to life than power and profit. And it hates that truth precisely because it remains a stumbling block to tyranny and oppression.”
Kristol has also blisteringly denounced Trump’s rationale, or lack thereof, for declaring war against Iran earlier in March.
“Why did we go to war four days ago?” Kristol asked. “And why are we going to continue this war, apparently for weeks or longer? The Trump administration can’t answer either question.”
Anti-Trump protests outweigh supporter rallies - Statista
Protests in the United States against President Donald Trump or the Trump administration by far outweigh rallies organized by Trump supporters, Statista reports.
This is according to data from the Crowd Counting Consortium at Harvard University. The number of protest actions counted spiked in April as well as in June and October of 2025, the latter two dates coinciding with the coordinated, U.S.-wide No Kings rallies that the consortium says were among the largest single-day protests in U.S. history with around 5 million and 7 million participants, respectively. In January of 2026, another spike was due to the National Shutdown or ICE Out protests against the conduct of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and the Trump administration's policies connected to the agency.
The CCC says that its numbers "rebut the narrative that there is 'no resistance' to the second Trump administration".
On this Saturday, another installment of the No Kings protest series that denounces authoritarian power grabs and their possibility in the U.S. under Donald Trump will take place. The event is projected to be the biggest anti-Trump protest ever as demonstrations are spreading across districts that voted for Trump in 2024 and even across the globe.
At the headline event in St. Paul, Bernie Sanders, Joan Baez, Bruce Springsteen and Jane Fonda will perform or speak. Across the United States, more than 3,000 separate protests are scheduled, about the same level as the October installment of the series.
You will find more infographics at Statista
Huge crowds protest against Trump in 'No Kings' rallies in the US and abroad
Organisers said at least eight million people participated in more than 3,300 events across all 50 US states.
Millions of people took to the streets across the US - and to a lesser extent worldwide - on Saturday to protest against US President Donald Trump on a range of different issues, in what they see as his authoritatian style of governance, hardline immigration policies, climate change denial and the war with Iran.
Organisers said that at least eight million people took part in more than 3,300 events held in major cities, suburbs and rural areas.
Protests were mostly peaceful, but some arrests were reported in Los Angeles and Denver, according to local police.
It is the third time in less than a year that people protest in the US as part of a grassroots movement called "No Kings".
The first such nationwide protest day took place last June on Trump's 79th birthday and coincided with a military parade he organised in Washington. Several million people turned out, from New York to San Francisco. The second, in October last year, drew an estimated seven million protesters, according to organisers.
In New York City, tens of thousands of people rallied on Saturday, including Oscar-winning actor Roberto De Niro who called the US President "an existential threat to our freedoms and security".
In the US capital Washington, thousands of marchers - some carrying banners that blared "Trump Must Go Now" and "Fight Fascism" - flocked to the National Mall.
"He keeps lying and lying and lying and lying, and no one says anything. So it's a terrible situation we're in," one protester told news agency AFP.
A deeply divided country
The event highlighted the deep political divide that currently exists in the US. While Trump is largely worshipped within his "Make America Great Again" movement, he is equally disliked by his foes, who decry his penchant for ruling by executive decree, use of the justice system to prosecute opponents, as well as his repeated climate change denial and apparent obsession wih fossil fuels.
Many of his opponents are also unhappy about his scrapping of racial and gender diversity programmes and his flexing of US military power after campaigning as a man of peace who would avoid wars.
The White House dimissed the rallies, however, with a spokesperson describing them as being the product of "leftist funding networks" that lack true public support.
"The only people who care about these Trump Derangement Syndrome Therapy Sessions are the reporters who are paid to cover them," spokesperson Abigail Jackson added in a statement.
Those comments were echoed by the National Republican Congressional Committee, with a spokesperson saying "these Hate America Rallies are where the far-left’s most violent, deranged fantasies get a microphone."
Nevertheless, organisers say two thirds of those attending rallies on Saturday do not live in major cities, often Democratic strongholds in the US - a data point that has risen sharply since the last protest.
Europeans protest from afar
Rallies also took place in Europe on Saturday, with around 20,000 people marching under a heavy police presence in cities including Amsterdam, Madrid and Rome.
In Paris, several hundred people - mostly Americans living in France - along with French labour unions and human rights organisations, gathered at the Bastille.
“I protest all of Trump’s illegal, immoral, reckless and feckless endless wars,” said the Paris No Kings organiser, Ada Shen.
In Rome, thousands protested against the US and Israel's strikes on Iran, but also took the opportunity to also criticise Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who recently saw a referendum - which would have changed how Italy’s judiciary system works - fail.
In London, people also protested the war in Iran. Many also held banners reading “stop the far right” and “stand up to racism.”
The “No Kings” movement has emerged as the most visible and outspoken opposition to Trump since he began his second term in January 2025.
As the November midterm elections loom and the president's approval rating sinks below 40%, Republicans are in danger of losing control of both chambers of Congress.
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