Millions of Americans took to the streets on Saturday for the No Kings demonstrations, designed to protest what organizers said was President Donald Trump's authoritarian regime. Here is a look back at the day of protests, including Trump's reaction to the events of the day.

No Kings Protests Draw Nearly 7 Million Demonstrators

Almost 7 million people reportedly participated in Saturday's No Kings protests. According to event organizers, there were over 2,700 demonstrations around the country. This was the second event of its kind this year. The first day of the No Kings protests was held in June, when roughly 5 million people showed up to speak out against Trump's presidency at the same time that he held a military parade down the streets of Washington, D.C.

Organizers in New York City estimated that over 100,000 people showed up to their event. In addition to the protests across the nation's largest metro areas, many demonstrations popped up in smaller towns and suburbs. Both red and blue states hosted the protests.

Despite the political unrest throughout the country, the protests were mostly peaceful. Law enforcement in both New York City and Portland said that they made no arrests at the protests.

A woman in South Carolina was arrested after she allegedly pulled out a firearm while driving near a protest. In neighboring Georgia, a man was captured on video taking a flag from a protester and pushing another demonstrator to the ground.

The group behind the protests, the Indivisible Project, said that it is dedicated to encouraging non-violent action. The group trained thousands of people on how to de-escalate a situation in an effort to keep the protests under control. Some of the protestors wore yellow as a sign of unity, harkening back to other nonviolent resistance movements throughout history.

Other demonstrators wore costumes in an attempt to send the message of peace and goodwill. One protestor noted that it was difficult to call an event a war zone when it is simply people dancing around in unicorn costumes. The demonstrators chanted words of inclusivity and peace, saying that immigrants are welcome in America. Signs featured slogans that opposed ICE and tech billionaires.

There were a number of special guests at many of the events, including political officials and celebrities. For example, Bill Nye, “The Science Guy,” was a speaker at the protest in Washington, D.C. Nye rallied the attendees by noting that Trump "cannot tolerate dissent" while also speaking about how the White House has attempted to silence television hosts.

The ongoing immigration crackdowns by the Trump administration were a common point of concern during the protests. The demonstrators were clearly angry about the federal government's ICE protocols.

Trump's Reaction to Protests

Rather than defending his presidency to the protestors, Trump took an opposite approach and embraced the criticism. Both the president and Vice President JD Vance took to social media over the weekend to post AI-generated memes showing Trump in a crown. The meme shared by Trump included a mock-up photo of him flying a jet with the sign "KING TRUMP" as it appears to dump sewage on the demonstrators.

Other than the mocking posts, the president was largely silent about the events of the day. However, the president did use the day leading up to the protests to hand down a surprising commutation of the seven-year jail sentence for former GOP Rep. George Santos. Critics of Trump said that the commutation was a power flex to show that he still had ultimate power.

Meanwhile, several members of the Trump administration tried to diminish the effectiveness of the No Kings protests. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded by saying that the Democratic Party was comprised of “Hamas terrorists, illegal aliens, and violent criminals.” Likewise, House Speaker Mike Johnson branded the protests as the “hate America” rallies attended by the “pro-Hamas wing” and “the Antifa people.”

It will take years for Saturday's protests and their impacts to come into full focus. While the demonstrations may end up being a simple reaction to the first nine months of Trump's second term, there is also the chance that they can serve as a jumping-off point for a larger resistance across the country and the world.

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