'No Kings' organizers set next protest date. White House called June 14 'utter failure'
In a June 16 call, organizers debriefed on the events of June 14, where the American Civil Liberties Union says more than 5 million people turned out across about 2,100 communities in the U.S. The protests fell on Trump's 79th birthday and coincided with the Army's 250th anniversary parade in Washington. D.C.
" 'Where do we go from here' is a famous line from a Dr. King speech," Barbara Arnwine with Transformative Justice Coalition said on the call. "And where we go from here is July the 17th... We're going to make good trouble because good trouble lives on and we will not stop until we win: no kings, no tyrants, no despots."
"Good trouble" is a term coined by the late Congressman John Lewis, and July 17 will mark five years since his death, the movement's website states.
A map of events shows there are more than 60 demonstrations planned for that day as of June 17.
"Good Trouble Lives On is a national day of action to respond to the attacks on our civil and human rights by the Trump administration," the website states. "Together, we'll remind them that in America, the power lies with the people."
Are people protesting more than usual? 'Jaw-dropping' number planned on Trump's birthday
Trump did not post about the protests on his social media site Truth Social.
But the White House did weigh in on the protests in a statement on X.
"The so-called No Kings protests have been a complete and utter failure with minuscule attendance. It is sad Democrats and liberals would rather support criminals and illegals instead of celebrating the 250th anniversary of our great U.S. Army and Flag Day," communications director Steven Cheung wrote. "But many more Americans are commemorating our brave military men and women who have given the ultimate sacrifice and who those continue to serve our country."
The American Civil Liberties Union, one of the co-organizers of the protests, estimated that more than 5 million people participated in about 2,100 demonstrations across the U.S.
'(Saturday's) protests are a resounding message that people across the nation will not be intimidated by President Trump's fear tactics. Americans are brave, democracy loving people and will not sit idly by as the Trump administration feeds our Constitution into the shredder — nor will the ACLU,' ACLU chief political and advocacy officer Deirdre Schifeling said in a press release on June 14.
Ezra Levin, co-founder of one of the organizing groups, Indivisible, called it one of the largest protests in American history.
"Blue states, red states, purple states, city centers, suburbs, rural America....we have friends everywhere," he said on the June 16 call.
USA TODAY reached out to organizers for this story.
Contributing: James Powell, Sarah D. Wire, Jonathan Limehouse, USA TODAY Network
Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at kcrowley@gannett.com. Follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky at @kinseycrowley.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: No Kings protest date set for July: When is it, theme?
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
NATO Secretary General Rutte says Trump-Putin summit is about 'testing Putin'
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Friday's summit between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska will be an important test in ending the war in Ukraine. 'Next Friday will be important because it will be about testing Putin, how serious he is on bringing this terrible war to an end,' Rutte told ABC News' 'This Week' co-anchor Jonathan Karl. 'It will be, of course, about security guarantees, but also about the absolute need to acknowledge that Ukraine decides on its own future, that Ukraine has to be a sovereign nation, deciding on its own geopolitical future,' Rutte added. Rutte said he believes that Trump supports these terms as well. 'The president wants to end this. He wants to end the terrible loss of life,' Rutte said. The NATO chief also acknowledged the reality that Russia is in control of some of Ukraine's prewar territory. 'The question will be how to go forward past a ceasefire, including what it means in terms of security guarantees for Ukraine,' he said. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
CBS News
22 minutes ago
- CBS News
The crypto craze sweeping Washington and Wall Street
Earlier this year, more than 35,000 bitcoin enthusiasts descended on Las Vegas for Bitcoin 2025 – the largest-ever gathering of its kind, attracting an eclectic mix of high rollers ... and true believers. "Your goal should be to own at least one bitcoin, because by the time you retire, that can be worth 20, 30 million," said Michael Terpin. Guy Malone said, "You can't change the Bible; it changes you. The same is true of bitcoin." But everyone here seems to agree on one thing: President Donald Trump's re-election has been like hitting the jackpot. As Vice President JD Vance told the crowd, "I'm here today to say loud and clear, with President Trump, crypto finally has a champion and an ally in the White House." Once dismissed by investors, and still baffling to many Americans, cryptocurrencies like bitcoin have won over supporters from Wall Street to Washington. In July, the president signed the Genius Act, which opens the door for companies like Wal-Mart and Amazon to issue their own digital currencies. And Congress is debating another bill that, for the first time, aims to regulate cryptocurrency trading – this after the industry spent more than $167 million on behalf of crypto-friendly candidates ahead of last year's election. Asked how people should think of cryptocurrencies, Amanda Fischer, who served as a top official in the Securities and Exchange Commission during the Biden administration, replied, "You could think of it as gambling, you could think of it as a collectible, you could think of it as a type of investment. But I think what's important to understand is that crypto is highly volatile. It's highly speculative. "Crypto is often marketed to individuals as an investment opportunity that will yield them the possibility of great returns," she said. "But unlike, say, a stock, which represents a part-ownership of a company, [crypto] is not backed by any sort of business that is producing goods and services." Unlike hard currencies like the dollar or the euro, cryptocurrencies only exist online, and are issued by individuals and companies, not central banks. And yet, billions of dollars' worth of crypto are traded every day. "The number of scams, the types of scams, the sophistication of scams are so rife and plentiful that the capacity to lose your money in a crypto investment is substantially higher than if you're just investing in stocks and bonds," Fischer said. During the Biden administration, the SEC cracked down on the cryptocurrency industry. The Trump administration has changed course, dismissing the largest outstanding cases, which Fischer says leaves consumers more vulnerable. I asked, "We are seeing leaders in crypto say we want to be regulated. And there is legislation currently here in Washington underway to regulate cryptocurrency. They say they want laws passed." "They want laws that they write to be passed," said Fischer. "So, the legislation currently being considered in Washington, D.C., is written by and for the crypto industry." David Bailey, who runs the bitcoin conference and is CEO of a bitcoin holding company called Nakamoto, said, "I wish that was the case, that'd be fantastic. But no, it's not true." Like many crypto entrepreneurs, Bailey now calls Puerto Rico home. "It started because of the taxes," he said. "Now, it's like the place to do business." But the 34-year-old's real claim to fame might be his role in convincing a skeptical President Trump (who in June 2021 told Fox Business Channel that bitcoin "just seems like a scam") to go all-in on bitcoin during the 2024 campaign. Asked what he told Mr. Trump to convince him to support crypto, Bailey replied, "First off, no one convinces the president of anything. He makes up his own mind about things. A lot of people, especially in Washington, have missed how big this has gotten. And so, we made the case to the president about how many people hold this asset. He saw the opportunity that was here by embracing this industry. And I think we had a big part of swinging the election in his direction." The Federal Reserve says only eight percent of Americans have bought or held cryptocurrency in the last year, and only two percent have ever used it to buy anything. But digital assets are increasingly part of the economy. You may now be able to use crypto as collateral for a mortgage, and this past week the president signed an executive order to make it easier to hold cryptocurrencies in your 401(k). All the attention has helped drive the price of bitcoin to an all-time high, recently passing $120,000 each. Bailey says bitcoin was about $10 when he first bought it. Asked how much he bought, he replied, "Well, you know, that's something I'm not going to talk about on camera. Not enough, let's just go like that. Not enough." And as crypto's fortunes have improved, so have the president's; CBS News estimates that crypto ventures controlled by the Trump family have made up to $765 million in revenue from token sales since the fall of 2024. The White House did not respond to questions about the token sales, but in a statement told CBS News, "Neither the President nor his family have ever engaged, or will ever engage, in conflicts of interest." Most experts in government ethics believe the situation is unprecedented. I asked Bailey, "Has it ever occurred to you that maybe the president has changed his position on bitcoin and crypto because he can personally benefit from it, or his family can?" "No, absolutely not," said Bailey. "I don't think he embraced this industry to enrich himself; I think that he just sees the same potential that I see. When you get excited about an idea, you feel compelled to do something about it." And that potential is why investors are betting that crypto will soon become part of everyday life. Vice President Vance told the audience at Bitcoin 2025, "We want our fellow Americans to know that crypto and digital assets, and particularly Bitcoin, are part of the mainstream economy and are here to stay." But for Amanda Fischer, that's a gamble not worth taking. "We heard the same thing about subprime mortgages going into 2008," said Fischer. "We heard the same thing about complex financial derivatives going into the last crisis, too. These products are wonderful and there are ways to extract so much value in wealth, until they're not. And I fear that crypto is going to follow down the same path. Things are going great many times, until they're not." For more info: Story produced by Mark Hudspeth, Madeleine May and Dan Ruetenik. Editor: Jason Schmidt. See also:
Fox News
22 minutes ago
- Fox News
Gov. Abbott calls out state Dems for refusing to 'stand and fight': 'The most un-Texan thing we've ever seen'
Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, joins 'Fox News Sunday' to address Democratic upheaval over the Lone Star State's GOP redistricting plan.
