鈥楴o Kings鈥� protests draw millions. Can they turn momentum into change?
| Washington and Rincon, Ga.
With crowd numbers estimated at several million in more than 3,000 locations, the No Kings Day protests on March 28 鈥� animated by opposition to President Donald Trump 鈥� might turn out to be the largest combined single-day protest in U.S. history.
The movement, which bills itself as 鈥渞ising against [Mr. Trump鈥檚] authoritarian power grabs,鈥� cites, in part, his administration鈥檚 immigration enforcement tactics and the Iran war.
Staysi and Caleb Lougheed, who commuted to Washington from Pennsylvania and joined a march from Arlington National Cemetery to the Washington Monument, say showing up matters.
Why We Wrote This
As President Donald Trump鈥檚 approval rating hit a new low, demonstrations against his policies spanned the U.S. and might have added up to the largest event ever. The history of American protests shows that in order to achieve tangible goals, a movement must do more than have high turnout on a single day of action.
鈥淚f we get over the 3.5% for a national response, over 12 million people, the hope is that no attempt at fascism or dictatorship has succeeded in the face of that amount of local opposition before,鈥� says Mr. Lougheed.
However, like many mass movements of America鈥檚 past 鈥� from the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s to the tea party movement of 2009 and 2010 鈥� the No Kings rallies will likely be judged on whether they can turn broad opposition toward a sitting president into focused policies and sustained pressure that delivers concrete results.
This year鈥檚 No Kings protests come at a time when President Trump鈥檚 public approval ratings are hitting new lows. A March 23 poll by showed that 36% of respondents approved of the president鈥檚 job performance, reflecting concerns about rising fuel prices at home and the war in Iran. The latest poll found similar results, with disapproval ratings of 56% overall, 58% for his handling of the economy, 59% for his handling of foreign policy, and 59% for his handling of the Iran war.
But voicing opposition is one thing. Turning it into action is another. The long history of American protests, dating back to the original Boston Tea Party in 1773, shows that not all mass movements produce tangible or lasting results.
, emerita professor of sociology at Stanford University, says that to achieve their goals, movements need sustained activity, media attention, and a stable organizational structure. They also need a clear vision and execution. 鈥淢ovements with a focused and coherent message are often more effective than those appealing to a broad but heterogeneous audience,鈥� she says.
In short, her work explores the trade-off between 鈥渄epth鈥� and 鈥渂readth鈥� in social causes.
鈥淢ovements advancing focused claims tend to strengthen in-group solidarity and commitment, while those seeking broader appeal can potentially mobilize larger constituencies,鈥� she says. 鈥淵et coalition-building across diverse groups introduces the risk of internal conflict over priorities.鈥�
That presents a challenge for , a broad progressive coalition with supporters across the country. No Kings organizers include labor unions, such as the American Federation of Teachers and the Service Employees International Union; veterans organizations, such as Common Defense; environmental groups, such as the League of Conservation Voters; and civic rights groups, such as the American Civil Liberties Union.
Wendy Bond, an activist with , which advocates self-governance and statehood for the District of Columbia, led a mass choir in singing at a No Kings protest at the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge in the Anacostia neighborhood of Washington. She says she鈥檚 concerned about the Trump administration鈥檚 鈥渢hreats to democracy,鈥� including the proposed , or SAVE Act, which she believes would make it 鈥渉arder and harder for many citizens to vote.鈥�
Effecting change will require sustained effort, Ms. Bond says. But she adds, 鈥淪mall numbers of people who are willing to resist can make a big difference. This is a good reason to hope.鈥�
鈥淚f you stay at home ... they can do whatever they want鈥�
At the march from Arlington National Cemetery into Washington, one of roughly two dozen planned for the nation鈥檚 capital and just outside it in Maryland and Virginia, a few thousand showed up on a sunny but chilly day.
About a dozen people the Monitor spoke with said they had done more than just attend a protest. They had volunteered to combat misinformation, organized letter-writing campaigns, or, like Jack Sobel from Maryland, canvassed and campaigned for political candidates.
Mr. Sobel, who said he has been attending protests since the Vietnam War, is going to more such events than ever now. Demonstrations show people they鈥檙e not alone, he says.
鈥淎nd I think there鈥檚 some evidence historically that autocracies 鈥� if you get a certain percentage of the population out demonstrating, autocracies fall.鈥�
Victor Cotto, a retired plumber and social worker, was channeling a similar thought about 600 miles away in Rincon, Georgia, just outside Savannah. Mr. Cotto, from nearby Pooler, started protesting during the Civil Rights era of the 1960s. Marching, he says, can yield tangible results that protest movements seek.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no other way you鈥檙e going to be in office without somebody else voting you in, and we can vote you in, and we can vote you out,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hey listen. ... But if you stay home and don鈥檛 do nothing, they can do whatever they want.鈥�
Mr. Cotto was among about 80 people on a stretch of Highway 21, which used to be a dirt road but is now a busy area with strip malls and chain restaurants. Some drivers honked in support as they drove past; others, perhaps among the 75 percent in Effingham County who voted for Mr. Trump in 2024, saluted the protesters with obscene gestures.
Rita Elliott, who lives just up the road in Springfield, said to see that many people show up in 鈥渄owntown Trumplandia,鈥� as she put it, 鈥渋s incredible.鈥�
Like Mr. Cotto, Mr. Sobel, and the Lougheeds, she said, protesting alongside others is powerful in and of itself. But she sees the need for more.
鈥淚 think that the only way that America is going to survive as a democracy is by local action,鈥� says Ms. Elliott, a contract archaeologist. The federal government, justice system, and Supreme Court 鈥� 鈥渁ll of those things that our forefathers set forth to make sure democracy survived鈥� 鈥� have been taken over, she says.
鈥淧eople feel so overwhelmed and say, 鈥榃hat can I do?鈥� But when I see local opportunities, I want to go ahead and participate.鈥�
Back in Washington, Hunter Gotico knows what Ms. Elliott means. As the march prepared to step off at the Arlington Cemetery Metro station, the high schooler held a sign protesting Mr. Trump.
Asked whether he plans to take action outside of protesting, he answered immediately: He鈥檒l cast his first ballot in the November midterm elections.
鈥淢y singular vote is going to mean so much,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 hope that all of our voices together will be enough for people in the government to see that change needs to happen.鈥�
Movements and meaning
No Kings organizers said they expected about 9 million people to participate in the U.S. and in other major cities such as Rome, Paris, and Tokyo. Late in the day, organizers told the Los Angeles Times that at least 8 million had participated. The White House dismissed the rallies as having little public support.
Patrick Rafail, a sociologist at Tulane University, sees similarities between the modern No Kings movement and one that contributed to Mr. Trump鈥檚 rise in the Republican Party: the conservative tea party movement that sprang up in opposition to newly elected President Barack Obama in 2009.
鈥淧eople were reeling from the Great Recession after the housing crisis, and there was a new administration [that] came to power, and the atmosphere fueled a conservative pushback,鈥� Mr. Rafail says. 鈥淭oday, the Trump administration鈥檚 public approval is low and lowering, the war in Iran is not popular, gas prices are rising, and those are a big part of people鈥檚 daily expenditures.鈥�
He says the challenge for groups like No Kings is sustaining momentum after a major event.
鈥淲hat the tea party taught is that you have to go beyond the national stage to solid results,鈥� he says. 鈥淚f you think about the tea party, they went to town halls to engage with people in power.鈥�
They did not compromise, Mr. Rafail says, and Republicans would be told, 鈥淵ou are going to fall in line, or we will primary you.鈥� That tea party movement reshaped the Republican Party, giving it control of the House of Representatives and propelling politicians such as Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, and Donald Trump into the leadership positions they now hold.
鈥淗aving these events is important,鈥� Mr. Rafail says, referring to the No Kings rallies. 鈥淭he question is whether they can convert that sentiment into policy and action. That鈥檚 hard work.鈥�
No Kings organizers will hold a community call on March 31 to address what comes next. They plan to roll out training sessions for protest participants to know their rights and how to de-escalate tensions with law enforcement or counterprotesters at future rallies. In the meantime, the turnout for No Kings events could build momentum for voters seeking change in congressional midterm elections this November 鈥� especially as many members of Congress have announced their intention to retire.
Aldon Morris, an emeritus professor of sociology and African American Studies at Northwestern University, says that he sees strong parallels between the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 鈥�60s and the activists in Minneapolis, Chicago, and even Vermont who have been protesting for months since the Trump administration鈥檚 immigration enforcement began.
Both in the Jim Crow South and in the recent immigration law enforcement in Minneapolis, where two U.S. citizens were fatally shot by federal agents earlier this year, a power imbalance between the government and civic society exists, says Professor Morris. Those in power 鈥渉ave the resources, they have the lawyers, they have surveillance tools that average people do not have.鈥�
Those who are not in power often turn to protests and rallies to try to shift that dynamic, he says. 鈥淧eople who are weak can use leverage to bring about change.鈥�
But there鈥檚 a learning process, he adds. Just as Alabama students challenged Jim Crow segregation rules with lunch-counter sit-ins, bus boycotts, and marches, today鈥檚 activists need to develop their own effective strategies as the government shifts its tactics.
鈥淭hey have to be like the great jazz musicians, and improvise,鈥� says Professor Morris. 鈥淲hen things change, you have to riff in a different way. In protest movements, there are things that happen that you did not know were going to happen. You have to innovate.鈥�
