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National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett weighed in on the No Kings protests, calling the demonstrations misguided and arguing that they prove the very freedoms protestors claim to defend.
“President Trump has said himself that he’s not a king,” Hassett told Fox News in a wide-ranging interview today. “Obviously everyone’s letting them protest, that’s what America is all about, is proving that there isn’t a king, right? And so what they’re doing makes no sense.”
Other Republicans have similarly denounced the rallies as unpatriotic.
The NYPD emphasized its “zero tolerance” policy for illegal activity associated to No Kings protests.
“The NYPD will be out across the city to make sure everyone can peacefully and safely exercise their first amendment right,” the post said. “As a reminder, there will be zero tolerance for any illegal activity or anyone who breaks the law.”
Protesters demonstrating in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, are sporting costumes for the No Kings rally along a freeway.
In one photo posted to Bluesky, a protestor in an inflatable dinosaur costume carried a sign that read: “fascism is prehistoric.”
Other protesters appeared in inflatable chicken, bear and unicorn costumes.
Reporting from Chicago, Illinois
Organizers of Chicago’s No Kings rally say today’s demonstration carries special meaning in the city, driven by frustrations over the conduct of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents involved in the Department of Homeland Security’s ongoing immigration enforcement campaign, dubbed “Operation Midway Blitz.”
“ICE is occupying our city. They are attacking our neighbors with tear gas. They are indiscriminately snatching people from streets and businesses and homes,” said Kathy Tholin, a board member of Indivisible Chicago, which is organizing a rally expected to draw thousands in downtown Chicago, and more than 30 others in surrounding suburbs.
President Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court to immediately allow the deployment of National Guard troops here in Illinois, saying they are needed to protect federal agents carrying out immigration enforcement.
“We are coming together on No Kings Day to say, ‘No, this is not the city we want to live in.’ I’m looking at the cruelty and the violence against Chicagoans, and I’m just completely outraged,” Tholin said. She added that she is not aware of any protesters who are being paid to attend, as some Republicans have claimed.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., referred to the protests as “the hate America rally.”
Tholin responded directly: “What is more American than standing up to protest against policies and programs that you don’t agree with?”
Demonstrators in Washington D.C. carried a banner representing the U.S. Constitution near 14th Street and U Street.
Protesters have begun assembling in St. Augustine, Florida.
Video posted to X shows a large gathering of people holding protest signs lined up behind barricades. Demonstrators are seen cheering as passing cars honk to show support.
Crowds of protesters are starting to swell in some of the nation’s largest cities, including in Washington, D.C. and Miami.
Live aerial footage shows a large protest amassing in Lexington, Massachusetts, with several hundred people gathering in a field.
A group of protesters in Washington, D.C. marched over the Arlington Memorial Bridge, waving banners that read “resist,” “I love America” and “save democracy!” Others waved American flags.
In Miami, hundreds of protesters lined a major freeway shouting: “One people! One nation! Stop the deportation!” Some cars passing through the demonstration honked in solidarity.
Today’s No Kings protests come after the movement’s last nationwide demonstrations in June — a day that descended into political violence.
Those protests coincided with Trump’s military parade marking the Army’s 250th anniversary. As rallies unfolded across the country that day, violence erupted: Democratic lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband were fatally shot, and Minnesota State Senator John Hoffman and his wife were wounded. A 57-year-old Minnesota man was charged in what authorities described as acts of targeted political violence.
Protestors have started gathering in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Video shared on X shows a few dozen people waving banners and American flags on the side of a road. Passing cars can be heard honking in solidarity.
Demonstrators gathered across Europe today ahead of the No Kings rallies.
Officials in several states are boosting security ahead of today’s nationwide No Kings protests, warning that violence or property damage won’t be tolerated.
In Virginia, Gov. Glenn Youngkin said he’s activated the National Guard to support police “to help keep Virginians safe.” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott also ordered state troopers and Guard members to Austin, calling the demonstration there “antifa-linked” and pledging to “deter criminal mischief.”
Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said officers will safeguard protesters’ right to assemble and that the department’s “Dialogue Police Team” will be on site to assist demonstrators.
In Philadelphia, officials announced road closures and parking restrictions for a large march from City Hall to Independence Mall and urged attendees to expect delays and sign up for safety alerts.
Authorities in all three states said they are coordinating with federal partners to monitor potential disruptions.
A coalition of leaders for the No Kings protests said in a press conference this week that millions of Americans are expected to join more than 2,600 demonstrations nationwide to protest what organizers called “authoritarian power grabs” by the Trump administration.
The leaders insisted the events will be peaceful and lawful, contrasting them with what they described as “lawless actions” by the federal government. They urged participants to exercise their First Amendment rights despite what they view as intimidation tactics, including threats of National Guard deployments.
Organizers called the protests a show of unity in defense of democracy. Deirdre Schifeling of the ACLU said protesting is the “most patriotic and American thing you can do.”
Today’s demonstrations are happening against the backdrop of a nation in conflict. Congress is at a standstill amid a government shutdown. Trump ordered National Guard deployments to California, Illinois, Oregon and Washington, D.C., against the wishes of local elected officials. Immigration agents are aggressively carrying out arrests in cities across the country, and videos showing clashes, sometimes violent, with residents and protesters have followed.
In the run-up to the upcoming marches, Republicans have pressed forward with messaging that attempts to cast the marches as made up of dangerous hate groups on the left. At the same time, the Democratic base has expressed its dissatisfaction with its party leadership.
Read the full story here.
NBC News
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