'No Kings' protests against Trump bring a street party vibe

It was the third mass mobilization since Trump's return to the White House and came against the backdrop of a government shutdown that not only has closed federal programs and services but is testing the core balance of power, as an aggressive executive confronts Congress and the courts in ways that protest organizers warn are a slide toward authoritarianism.

Trump himself was spending the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.

“They say they’re referring to me as a king. I’m not a king,” Trump said in a Fox News interview that aired early Friday, before he departed for a $1 million-per-plate MAGA Inc. fundraiser at his club. Protests were expected there Saturday.

Nationwide demonstrations

People packed into New York City's Times Square, Boston Common and Chicago's Grant Park; outside state capitols in Tennessee and Indiana and a courthouse in Billings, Montana; and at hundreds of smaller public spaces. More than 2,600 rallies were planned on the day, organizers said.

Many protesters were angered by attacks on their motives. In Washington, Brian Reymann said being called a terrorist all week by Republicans was “pathetic.”

“This is America. I disagree with their politics, but I don’t believe that they don’t love this country,” Reymann said, carrying a large U.S. flag. “I believe they are misguided. I think they are power-hungry.”

More than 1,500 people gathered in Birmingham, Alabama, evoking and openly citing the city’s history of protests and the critical role it played in the Civil Rights Movement two generations ago.

“It just feels like we’re living in an America that I don’t recognize,” said Jessica Yother, a mother of four. She and other protesters said they felt camaraderie by gathering in a state where Trump won nearly 65% of the vote last November.

“It was so encouraging,” Yother said. “I walked in and thought, ‘Here are my people.’”

Organizers hope to build opposition movement

“Big rallies like this give confidence to people who have been sitting on the sidelines but are ready to speak up,” Democratic U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy said in an interview with The Associated Press.

While protests earlier this year — against Elon Musk's cuts and Trump’s military parade — drew crowds, organizers say this one is uniting the opposition. Top Democrats such as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders are joining what organizers view as an antidote to Trump's actions, from the administration's clampdown on free speech to its military-style immigration raids.

“We’re here because we love America,” Sanders said, addressing the crowd from a stage in Washington. He said the American experiment is “in danger” under Trump but insisted, “We the people will rule.”

The national march against Trump and Musk this spring had 1,300 registered locations, while the first “No Kings” day in June registered 2,100.

Republican critics denounce the demonstrations

Republicans sought to portray protesters as far outside the mainstream and a prime reason for the government shutdown, now in its 18th day.

From the White House to Capitol Hill, GOP leaders called them “communists” and “Marxists.” They said Democratic leaders including Schumer are beholden to the far-left flank and willing to keep the government shut to appease those liberal forces.

“I encourage you to watch — we call it the Hate America rally — that will happen Saturday,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana.

“Let’s see who shows up for that," Johnson said, listing groups including “antifa types,” people who “hate capitalism” and “Marxists in full display.”

Many demonstrators, in response, said they were meeting such hyperbole with humor, noting that Trump often leans heavily on theatrics such as claiming that cities he sends troops to are war zones.

“So much of what we’ve seen from this administration has been so unserious and silly that we have to respond with the same energy,” said Glen Kalbaugh, a Washington protester who wore a wizard hat and held a sign with a frog on it.

New York police reported no arrests during the city's protests.

Democrats try to regain their footing amid shutdown

Democrats have refused to vote on legislation that would reopen the government as they demand funding for health care. Republicans say they are willing to discuss the issue later, only after the government reopens.

The situation is a potential turnaround from just six months ago, when Democrats and their allies were divided and despondent. Schumer in particular was berated by his party for allowing an earlier government funding bill to sail through the Senate without using it to challenge Trump.

“What we are seeing from the Democrats is some spine,” said Ezra Levin, a co-founder of Indivisible, a key organizing group. “The worst thing the Democrats could do right now is surrender.”

Associated Press journalists Matt Brown, Lisa Mascaro and Kevin Freking in Washington, Jill Colvin and Joseph Frederick in New York, Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina, Chris Megerian in West Palm Beach, Florida, Bill Barrow in Birmingham, Alabama, and Safiya Riddle in Montgomery, Alabama, contributed.