People across the US and around the world are getting ready for mass pro-democracy and anti-Trump demonstrations in thousands of towns and cities.
The third "No Kings" demonstration is expected to be among the largest to date since US President Donald Trump took office in January , as he has pursued much harder and more unpopular policies than in his first term.
"They're trying to control us with fear. By going out into the streets, we're saying you can't do that to us," Liliana Soroceanu, a San Francisco-based volunteer with the nationwide protest group Indivisible, told The New Arab . "This is a growing movement across the country."
The first "No Kings" demonstrations in June 2025 drew around five million, and the second one in October saw seven million take to the streets, according to protest organisers (some independent groups put the numbers lower, though all estimates were in the millions).
Saturday's demonstrations are expected to be widespread.
The main event will take place in Minnesota, with planned speeches by Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and singer Bruce Springsteen, who wrote a song dedicated to the city after immigration agents fatally shot residents Renee Good and Alex Pretti. A major Palestinian contingency will be demonstrating in Chicago.
According to a map on the No Kings website of event sites on Saturday, there will be solidarity demonstrations in Europe, Latin America and Africa. Soroceanu says it's difficult to predict the turnout because, in previous demonstrations, attendance far exceeded the number of people who had signed up on the website, which she attributes to fear. She says they're hoping to see 3.5 per cent of the US population out on the streets.
The "3.5 per cent rule" comes from academics Erica Chenoweth and Maria Stephan, who found, through studying pro-democracy demonstrations, that if 3.5 per cent of the population peacefully mobilises against an authoritarian government, it is likely to be overthrown. In the US, with a population of 338 million, this would mean a critical mass of nearly 12 million people.
The turnout is likely to be large, given Trump's historically low poll numbers, with recent polling averages putting him at around 41 per cent, and a Reuters/IPSOS poll showing him at 36 per cent approval.
Since the last "No Kings" demonstrations in October, Trump's popularity has been sinking. Among people's main grievances are his hardline crackdown on immigration, including the deaths and detentions of US citizens, and his unprovoked war on Iran , which has quickly driven up oil prices, leading to price increases across the board.
"Masked secret police terrorising our communities. An illegal, catastrophic war is putting us in danger and driving up our costs. Attacks on our freedom of speech, our civil rights, our freedom to vote. Costs are pushing families to the brink. Trump wants to rule over us as a tyrant. But this is America, and power belongs to the people—not to wannabe kings or their billionaire cronies," reads the homepage of the No Kings website.
Some online commentators have expressed disappointment that the upcoming "No Kings" demonstrations don't have a specific anti-war focus. Others have been frustrated that there is not more focus on Palestine, given the strong US military support for the Israeli military, some protesters have tied the lack of support for healthcare and education in the US.
Despite some divisions on how to demonstrate for certain key issues, the decentralised movement has managed to continue to grow, possibly due to a relatively straightforward agenda.
"We are a country united against kings. It's part of our DNA," said Soroceanu. "He's doing the same thing. He's starting a war, killing Americans on the street and not providing services. We are saying no ICE and no kings. Now, we're saying no war ."