‘No Kings. No Trump’: Organizers Mobilize to Denounce War, Tyranny, and Greed

A broad coalition of organizations is mobilizing for the third edition of nationwide "No Kings" demonstrations on Saturday, March 28, to denounce President Donald Trump's lawless authoritarianism, insatiable greed, and his unconstitutional and illegal war with Iran.

Organizers have set up a website to help people find a demonstration near them. As of this writing, there are more than 3,200 events are scheduled to take place on Saturday across all 50 states.

Previous versions of the No Kings demonstrations—which drew millions into the streets—focused on the president's domestic policies, such as his use US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to terrorize communities and carry out mass deportations, as well as severe cuts made to programs such as Medicaid, Social Security, public education, scientific research, workplace safety, food assistance for the poor, and other programs.

However, this weekend's protests will also take on the Iran war, which was launched nearly a month ago and has led to thousands of deaths while generating a spike in global energy prices and chaos throughout the Middle East.

As summarized by Leah Greenberg, co-executive director of Indivisible, the three central themes of the protests will be, "No kings, no ICE, no war."

Naveed Shah, political director of Common Defense and a US Army veteran, said that he was disturbed to see the president run roughshod over the Constitution he swore an oath to defend.

"We did not serve this country so it could be handed over to one man’s ego," said Shah. "We served because we believed in something bigger—a government of the people, by the people, for the people. A constitution that means something. A democracy worth defending. That’s what No Kings is all about."

While opposition to the Iran war is a new dimension to the No Kings rallies, Edwin Torres DeSantiago, manager of the Immigrant Defense Network, said that protests against the Trump administration's mass deportations were also front and center.

"You don’t send masked agents into neighborhoods, into airports, into communities to keep people safe," said Torres DeSantiago. "You send them to keep people terrified. And that fear is not accidental, it’s part of a larger escalation. We’re already seeing the consequences. Keith Porter Jr., Renee Good, Alex Pretti, Dr. Linda Davis, Ruben Ray Martinez and dozens of others that have been killed by this administration’s escalation."

Katie Bethell, executive director at MoveOn Civic Action, argued the demonstrations were a direct rebuke to Trump's ambitions to rule the US by decree without any checks or balances.

"The Trump administration made a terrible miscalculation that we would cower and capitulate in response to their chaos and cruelty," said Bethell. "That we would put up with our healthcare being slashed, with gas prices and utility bills going through the roof, while they shower billionaires in tax cuts. Americans are no fools."

Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen, emphasized the importance of maintaining solidarity as the best weapon against authoritarian aggression.

"They want us to be scared and isolated, but instead we are joining together in overwhelming numbers to speak out against authoritarianism and abuses of power," said Gilbert. "No matter where they take place, these events are nonviolent, they’re disciplined, they will be grounded in solidarity. This is what the administration is scared of—our unity in this moment."