No Kings organizers project a massive turnout for this weekend's protests

By Alana Wise

Friday, October 17, 2025 • 5:01 AM EDT

Organizers of the No Kings protests are projecting that millions of Americans will demonstrate against the policies of the Trump administration on Saturday, amid ongoing Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests and the deployment of National Guard troops to several Democratic-run cities around the United States.

"The purpose here is to stand in solidarity, to organize, to defend our democracy and protect each other and our communities, and just say enough is enough," said Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group that is one of the protest organizers.

"We've been watching the Trump administration's abuses of power, and millions took to the streets in June," she said.

Related Story: NPR

Some Republicans have decried the protests as anti-American. House Speaker Mike Johnson called it a "hate America rally."

This summer, droves of demonstrators protested on the Army's 250th anniversary, which coincided with President Trump's birthday. In celebration of the date, Trump insisted on a massive military parade that critics said was meant to honor Trump as much as the armed service.

Now, protesters say they are speaking out against what they say are injustices perpetrated against suspected undocumented immigrants, as well as a failing health care system, efforts to tilt elections and other grievances.

The organizers said on the No Kings website: "The president thinks his rule is absolute. But in America, we don't have kings and we won't back down against chaos, corruption, and cruelty."

Related Story: NPR

White House responds: "Who cares?"

When asked about the planned protests and the accusations that Trump is behaving like a monarch, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson replied, "Who cares?" She had no further comment.

In June, organizers estimated that 5 million people participated in a day of No Kings protests around the country in more than 2,000 events.

They are projecting an even bigger turnout this weekend.

Harvard University sociologist and assistant professor of public policy Liz McKenna said that in the past, movements of this scale have succeeded in influencing social change, but that their efficacy has dropped significantly since the turn of the century.

"We are not even a year into the Trump administration, and so I think the strategy on the part of the organizers is to show that 'we're not backing down,'" McKenna said.

Related Story: NPR

But, she added: "We've seen more people take to the streets, not just in the United States but around the world, by the millions, and in many, if not most, of those cases, the protests have not achieved their stated aims."

McKenna cited recent large-scale protests like Black Lives Matter and the Women's March during Trump's first term, which were highly visible but did not necessarily result in lasting change.

Transcript

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Organizers of the No Kings movement are preparing for Saturday's demonstrations against President Trump's policies. This comes as the government shutdown continues, and National Guard troops have been deployed to several Democratic-run cities around the country. NPR's Alana Wise reports.

ALANA WISE, BYLINE: All across the country, organizers say they expect millions of people will protest Trump's policies, including ICE arrests and what they see as the politicization of the National Guard.

LISA GILBERT: The purpose here is to stand in solidarity, to organize, to defend our democracy and protect each other in our communities and just say enough is enough.

WISE: That was Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen, one of the groups organizing the protests. Some Republicans have decried the protest as anti-American. House Speaker Mike Johnson called it a, quote, "hate America rally." Organizers said that about 5 million demonstrators marched in June's No Kings protests in cities across the country on the same day Trump celebrated a massive military parade in D.C. The No Kings organizers expect turnout to be even bigger this weekend.

Liz McKenna is a Harvard sociologist and assistant professor of public policy. She said that in the past, movements of this scale have been successful in influencing social change, but they have been less effective since the turn of the century.

LIZ MCKENNA: We are not even a year into the Trump administration. So I think the strategy on the part of the organizers is to show that we're not backing down.

WISE: But, she added, in the U.S. and abroad...

MCKENNA: The protests have not achieved their stated aims and in some cases actually even backfired.

WISE: Still, the goal of the demonstrations, she said, is to make sure that these voices are still being heard. When asked about the administration's response to the protests, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said, quote, "who cares?"

Alana Wise, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONS OF KEMET'S "MY QUEEN IS YAA ASANTEWAA")