‘No crown for the clown': Tens of thousands throng US streets against ‘king' Trump in nationwide rallies
NEW YORK, June 15 — A giant orange balloon depicting President Donald Trump in a diaper towered over one 'No Kings' protest today, as tens of thousands thronged streets across the United States to decry the president's policies.
Protest organisers expected rallies in all 50 US states, calling them the largest since Trump returned to office in January, with the aim of 'rejecting authoritarianism, billionaire-first politics, and the militarisation of our democracy.'
Wielding signs with messages like 'No KKKings!', 'No crown for the clown' and 'The Trump fascist regime must go now!' the protests stood in stark contrast to the massive military parade planned in Washington later Saturday.
That parade is meant to commemorate the founding of the US Army, but also falls on the president's 79th birthday.
'I am here today to tell the world that we don't have kings in America. In America, the law is king,' Ilene Ryan told AFP at a demonstration in Boston.
In New York, tens of thousands of people, wearing raincoats and carrying colourful umbrellas, marched down Fifth Avenue in the downpour to the sound of drums, bells and crowd chants of 'Hey, hey, oh, oh, Donald Trump has got to go!'
Actors Susan Sarandon and Mark Ruffalo were seen getting drenched among the protesters.
Demonstrators take part in a protest on the day of a military parade commemorating the US Army's 250th Birthday in Washington, D.C. June 14, 2025. — Reuters pic
'Outraged'
A few blocks away, Polly Shulman was preparing to join the march with her 'Protect the Constitution' sign.
'I'm miserable and outraged about how this administration is destroying the ideals of the American Constitution,' the 62-year-old museum employee told AFP.
The most shocking thing, she said, was 'the illegal deportations of law-abiding residents.'
They are 'being kidnapped and disappeared and sent to torture prisons in foreign countries.'
In March, the Trump administration expelled more than 250 Venezuelans to a mega-prison in El Salvador after accusing them of being members of the Tren de Aragua criminal gang, which it has declared a terrorist organisation.
At least four protesters were arrested at a separate, smaller protest against Trump's immigration crackdown at New York's Federal Plaza Saturday, police said.
Demonstrators display Mexican and US flags in front of mounted police at a protest against US President Donald Trump's policies and federal immigration sweeps during a No Kings Day demonstration in Los Angeles, California June 14, 2025. — Reuters pic —
'Mad as hell'
'I think people are mad as hell,' Lindsay Ross, a 28-year-old musician, told AFP, urging the masses to show 'the administration that we're not going to take this.'
Bill Kennedy, a retired psychologist from Pennsylvania, was in Washington protesting a few hours before Trump's big parade there.
'I'm tired of the current administration. I think they're a bunch of fascists,' he said, describing the Trump parade as 'ridiculous.'
Suzanne Brown in Boston also lamented the money spent on the parade 'for one man's vanity.'
Massive 'No Kings' protests were also underway in Los Angeles, which in recent days has been rocked by demonstrations over the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, as federal agents carried out brutal arrests of even law-abiding people without papers.
Yesterday, protesters gathered in front of federal buildings shouting 'You are not welcome here' at some of the 4,000 National Guard members and 700 US Marines that Trump dispatched to the city against the wishes of city and state authorities.
With a giant orange Trump-in-a-diaper balloon towering above them, thousands filled the city streets, sporting slogans like 'No faux-king way' and 'Impeach Trump'.
Members of Russian feminist protest and performance art group Pussy Riot held up a large red banner in front of LA city hall warning: 'It's beginning to look a lot like Russia.'
Iris Rodriguez, 44, explained that her family arrived in the United States without papers.
'I find it really, really personal... If this was my mom, if this were the 80s, this would be happening to her,' she told AFP.
'I was a little scared, but I refuse to be too scared to not come.'
The country-wide demonstrations overwhelmingly took place peacefully and without incident.
But in Culpeper, Virginia, police said a man had 'intentionally' rammed his car into a group of protesters as they left the event.
The man, identified as 21-year-old Joseph R. Checklick Jr., 'intentionally accelerated his vehicle into the dispersing crowd, striking at least one person with his vehicle,' police said, adding that he had been arrested and no injuries had so far been reported. — AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Malay Mail
an hour ago
- Malay Mail
France says ‘non' to Trump's Greenland grab as Macron visits the Arctic
PARIS, June 15 — French President Emmanuel Macron will visit Greenland on Sunday, in a show of solidarity with Denmark meant to send a signal of European resolve after US President Donald Trump threatened to take over the island. Greenland is a self-governing part of the Kingdom of Denmark with the right to declare independence. Both the Greenland and Danish governments say it is not for sale and only Greenlanders can determine their future. President Donald Trump has said he wants the United States to take over the mineral-rich, strategically located Arctic island, and has not ruled out force. His vice president, JD Vance, visited a US military base there in March. Macron, the first foreign leader to visit Greenland since Trump's explicit threats to 'get' the island, was invited by the prime ministers of Greenland and Denmark. He has said his visit is meant to prevent any 'preying' on the territory. 'France has stood by us since the first statements about taking our land emerged. This support is both necessary and gratifying,' Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen wrote on Facebook days ahead of Macron's visit. Asked if Macron would deliver an explicit message to the United States during his visit, an adviser to Macron told reporters: 'The trip is a signal in itself,' without mentioning Trump. Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told RTL radio on Sunday: 'Greenland is a European territory and it is normal that Europe and notably France show their interest.' According to an IFOP poll for published on Saturday, 77 per cent of the French and 56 per cent of Americans disapprove of an annexation of Greenland by the US and 43 per cent of the French would approve using French military power to prevent a US invasion. Macron will visit the capital Nuuk, as well as a hydropower station funded by the EU and a glacier, and discuss Arctic security and climate change with his hosts. Though Denmark is an EU member, Greenland is outside the bloc. The French adviser said the visit would be an opportunity to discuss how to give Greenland's association partnership with the EU a 'new dimension'. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen made several visits to Paris after Trump's threats to seek French and European backing, and has placed orders for French-made surface-to-air missiles, in a shift of focus for Copenhagen. Enlisting the EU's only nuclear power is a way for Denmark, long one of Washington's most loyal allies in Europe, to project a form of hard power towards a suddenly more aggressive United States, said Florian Vidal of the Paris-based IFRI think tank. 'The Trump administration's more aggressive posture is a shock that makes the French vision of Europe, one that is more autonomous, appear more reasonable for Denmark,' he said. 'From a Nordic point of view, France is a military power that counts.' — Reuters
New Straits Times
2 hours ago
- New Straits Times
G7 leaders meet in Canada hoping to avoid Trump clash
GROUP of Seven (G7) leaders gather in the Canadian Rockies starting on Sunday amid growing splits with the United States over foreign policy and trade, with host Canada striving to avoid clashes with President Donald Trump. While Prime Minister Mark Carney says his priorities are strengthening peace and security, building critical mineral supply chains and creating jobs, issues such as US tariffs and the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine are expected to feature heavily. US ally Israel launched a barrage of strikes across Iran on Thursday, a blow to Trump's diplomatic efforts to prevent such an attack. The summit will take place in the mountain resort of Kananaskis, some 90 km (56 miles) west of Calgary. The last time Canada played host, in 2018, Trump left the summit before denouncing then Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as "very dishonest and weak" and instructing the US delegation to withdraw its approval of the final communique. "This will be a successful meeting if Donald Trump doesn't have an eruption that disrupts the entire gathering. Anything above and beyond that is gravy," said University of Ottawa international affairs professor Roland Paris, who was foreign policy adviser to Trudeau. Trump has often mused about annexing Canada and arrives at a time when Carney is threatening reprisals if Washington does not lift tariffs on steel and aluminum. "The best-case scenario ... is that there's no real blow-ups coming out of the back end," said Josh Lipsky, the chair of international economics at the Atlantic Council think tank and a former White House and State Department official. Carney's office declined to comment on how the Israeli strikes would affect the summit. Diplomats said Canada has ditched the idea of a traditional comprehensive joint communique and would issue chair summaries instead, in hopes of containing a disaster and maintaining engagement with the US. A senior Canadian official told reporters Ottawa wanted to focus on actions the seven members - Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States - could take together. Canadian Senator Peter Boehm, a veteran former diplomat who acted as Trudeau's personal representative to the 2018 summit, said he had been told the summit would last longer than usual to give time for bilateral meetings with the US president. Expected guests for parts of the Sunday to Tuesday event include leaders from Ukraine, Mexico, India, Australia, South Africa, South Korea and Brazil, who all have reasons to want to talk to Trump. "Many will want to talk to President Trump about their own particular interests and concerns," Boehm said by phone. A senior US official said on Friday working discussions would cover trade and the global economy, critical minerals, migrant and drug smuggling, wildfires, international security, artificial intelligence and energy security. "The president is eager to pursue his goals in all of these areas including making America's trade relationships fair and reciprocal," the official said. The visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the Oval Office in February descended into acrimony and has served as a warning for other world leaders about the delicate dance they face in negotiating with Trump. But diplomats say the frustration of dealing with the Trump administration has made some keener to assert themselves. Canada has long been one of Ukraine's most vocal supporters. Trump came to power promising to end the war with Russia within 24 hours but diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have stalled. One Ukrainian official involved in preparations for the summit said hope had faded for a strong statement in support of Ukraine. Instead, success for Kyiv would merely constitute an amicable meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy. A European official said the G7 summit and the NATO summit in The Hague later in June provided an opportunity to underscore to Trump the need to press ahead with a sanctions bill put together by US senators alongside a new European package to pressure Russia into a ceasefire and broader talks. Trump's first international summit will offer some early clues on whether Trump is interested in working with allies to solve common problems, said Max Bergmann, a director at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "The big overarching question here is, basically, is the United States still committed to formats like the G7? That is going to be the big test," Bergmann said. French President Emmanuel Macron has said he has a good, but frank relationship with Trump despite differences on subjects such as Ukraine or climate change. Macron said on Friday that a United Nations conference co-hosted between France and Saudi Arabia scheduled after the G7 to work towards a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians has been postponed.
New Straits Times
3 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Trump showcases US military might as protesters decry 'dictator' moves
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump hosted the largest US military parade in decades on his 79th birthday as protesters rallied across the country to accuse him of acting like a dictator. Trump hailed the United States as the "hottest country in the world" after watching tanks, aircraft and troops file past him in Washington on Saturday to honour the 250th anniversary of the US army. It formed a stark split screen with turmoil at home and abroad, as police used teargas to disperse protesters in Los Angeles and US ally Israel traded missile fire with Iran in a rapidly escalating conflict in the Middle East. Trump's parade on an overcast night in Washington came after hundreds of thousands of "No Kings" demonstrators thronged the streets in cities including New York, Philadelphia, Houston and Atlanta. The Republican largely avoided his usual domestic political diatribes in an unusually brief speech and instead focused on praising the US army, saying that they "fight, fight, fight, and they win, win, win." The display of military might comes as Trump asserts his power domestically and on the international stage. Trump used his parade address to send a warning to Washington's adversaries of "total and complete" defeat, with the United States increasingly at risk of entanglement in Israel's conflict with Iran. "Time and again, America's enemies have learned that if you threaten the American people, our soldiers are coming for you," Trump said. Trump had openly dreamed since his first term as president of having a grand military parade of the type more often seen in Moscow or Pyongyang. The last such parade in the United States was at the end of the Gulf War in 1991. Trump stood and saluted on a stage outside the White House as tanks rumbled past, aircraft roared overhead and nearly 7,000 troops marched by. Troops and military hardware from different eras passed by, with an announcer reeling off US victories in battles with Japanese, German, Chinese and Vietnamese forces in past wars. The army said the parade cost up to US$45 million. The crowd sang "Happy Birthday" and there were occasional chants of "USA! USA!" but the atmosphere was less intense than one of the barnstorming rallies that swept Trump to power. The White House said that "over 250,000 patriots showed up" for the event, without providing evidence. Communications Director Steven Cheung described the "No Kings" protests as a "complete and utter failure." "No Kings" organisers said protesters gathered in hundreds of places, with AFP journalists seeing large crowds in several cities. Organisers said they were protesting against Trump's dictatorial overreach, particularly what they described as the strongman symbolism of the parade. "I think people are mad as hell," Lindsay Ross, a 28-year-old musician, told AFP in New York, where tens of thousands of people rallied. Some protesters targeted Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, while a small group even gathered in Paris. "I think it's disgusting," protester Sarah Hargrave, 42, said in the Washington suburb of Bethesda, describing Trump's parade as a "display of authoritarianism." Thousands turned out in Los Angeles to protest against Trump's deployment of troops in the country's second-largest city following clashes sparked by immigration raids. "He's trying to bully Los Angeles into complying with everything that he's trying to do, and we're not going to do that. We're a city of immigrants," a protester who gave his name as Armando told AFP. After a day of largely peaceful protests, police unexpectedly began moving people away from the LA protest area, igniting confusion and anger among demonstrators caught off guard and unsure of where to go. Police on horseback pushed crowds back as law enforcement fired tear gas and flash-bang grenades hours ahead of an 8pm (0300 GMT) curfew. Police officials said a "small group of agitators" had begun throwing rocks, bottles and fireworks at officers, prompting the decision to deploy tear gas and order the crowd to disperse. Violence shattered the calm elsewhere, with a shooting at a "No Kings" demonstration in the western US city of Salt Lake City. At least one person was critically injured and three people were taken into custody, police said. The killing of a Democratic lawmaker and her husband in the northern state of Minnesota on Saturday, in what the governor called a targeted attack, also cast a pall over the parade. Trump was quick to condemn the attacks outside Minneapolis in which former state speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband were killed, while another state lawmaker and his wife were hospitalised with gunshot wounds.--AFP
