More than 200,000 demonstrators rallied across the District on Saturday as part of the nationwide “No Kings” protests, condemning President Donald Trump’s policies and leadership, which they argue reflect fascist tendencies.
Addressing a crowd that packed Pennsylvania Avenue near the Capitol, speakers like Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Chris Murphy (D-CT) and science educator Bill Nye addressed D.C.’s “No Kings” rally — part of the second wave of nationwide protests since the start of Trump’s second term, which drew millions to more than 2,600 demonstrations. More than 50 GW students marched to the rally together, waving American flags and holding “No kings since 1776” signs, which they said helped counter Republican claims that Saturday’s protest was anti-American.
The rally speeches kicked off at noon Saturday at Pennsylvania Avenue and Third Street NW. Many protesters marched from Arlington, Virginia, crossing the Arlington Memorial Bridge before making their way to the site of the rally. National Guard troops and Metropolitan Police Department officers were spotted in the protest areas, but officials reported no arrests.
The protest comes as the government enters the third week of the federal shutdown and congressional Democrats and Republicans remain far apart from an agreement to reopen the government. Both Sanders and Murphy said they opposed a budget that did not address the Americans who have lost their health care and have seen their premiums increase.
D.C. has become a hotspot for protest activity in recent months because of Trump’s decision to deploy the guard and increased immigration raids on local businesses. Trump took control over the MPD in August and declared a public safety emergency over the objections of local leaders, which was limited to 30 days and expired in September. Last month, several thousand protesters marched against Trump’s deployment of the guard to the District.
Other demonstrators donned inflatable dinosaurs and alien costumes, which started in Portland, Oregon to help keep the mood light at protests, and anti-Trump merchandise, like “Veterans against Trump,” and held signs like “No Faux King Way” in opposition to Trump.
A group of over 50 GW students led by a coalition of four student organizations gathered in G Street Park at 11:30 a.m. prior to meeting up with the larger rally by the Capitol and listened to student speakers from the organizations. GW Democracy Matters, ACLU-GW, Swing Left GWU and Beyond the Ballot organized the event.
“Thank you everybody for taking the time to stand up today,” a student organizer, who did not identify himself, said as he addressed the crowd of students at G Street Park. “Nobody’s coming to save us, so we’re gonna fight for our own future.”
After a few minutes of speeches, students began their march toward Pennsylvania Avenue and the Capitol, garnering words of encouragement from passersby as they chanted various call and response slogans like “When I say f*ck, you say Trump,” and “When democracy is under attack, what do we do? Stand up fight back.”
First-year Matthew Phillips waved a large American flag as he marched with his fellow students. He said he brought the flag to counter criticism from Republicans, including Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson who has called the protests “hate America” rallies.
“There’s a lot of propaganda saying that left movements don’t love America, and I’m someone who deeply loves America,” Phillps said. “I deeply respect the nation, and it’s because of that love and because of that respect that I come out to things like this because I value American values and feel like the current administration is not upholding those values.”
As the students made their way down Constitution Avenue by the National Mall, to the main rally, passersby greeted them mostly with support, though one counterprotester filmed the crowd while yelling “God bless Trump, God bless ICE.”
In response, organizers led a call and response chant of “When I say f*ck, you say ICE.”
A woman holding a sign with an edited photo of Trump with devil horns that read “Not today Satan” said, “Keep it up, y’all,” as the students marched.
At the Capitol rally, Sanders, who spoke around 1:50 p.m., greeted a roaring crowd when he reached the stage. He referenced George Washington’s inaugural address in his remarks, where Washington called the new government an “experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.”
“My fellow Americans, in an unprecedented way, that experiment is now in danger,” Sanders said. “It is in danger when we have a president who wants more and more power in his own hands and in the hands of his fellow oligarchs.”
Sanders also criticized the One Big Beautiful Bill Act for making “massive” cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act and said Republicans were focused on giving tax breaks to billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos rather than helping normal Americans.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated in July that the bill would cause 10 million people to lose their health insurance.
Murphy said in his speech that America is in the middle of an “authoritarian takeover,” which he said was unsurprising news and said Republicans are to blame for the current government shutdown.
“Our democracy is in peril, but it can be saved,” Murphy said.
Murphy called Trump the most corrupt president in America’s history and said he is enacting a “step-by-step” plan to destroy free speech, fair elections and an independent press.
“The truth is also this: he has not won yet,” Murphy said. “The people still rule in this country. And today all across America in numbers that may eclipse any day of protest in our nation’s history, Americans are saying loudly and proudly that we are a free people.”
Nye said in his speech that people need to tell their representatives in Congress that they must stop the abuses of the “petulant” president.
“We are confronting the possible end of our republic,” Nye said.
Nye said the Trump administration is arresting people and denying them due process in courts as well as silencing television hosts and indicting civil servants. Civil liberties groups including the American Civil Liberties Union have accused the Trump administration of deporting people without due process, and the Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr drew bipartisan ire for threatening ABC over its handling of Jimmy Kimmel’s comments about the murder of Charlie Kirk.
“Although the United States has been the world’s leader in science for decades, this president and the members of his cabinet even failed to accept scientific facts,” Nye said.
Anyanka Novak, a first-year, said she is from Portland, Oregon, where Trump has attempted to deploy the guard because he claimed the city is a “war zone.” Novak said some of her family back home attended Portland’s “No Kings” protest Saturday and that it is necessary to attend rallies like Saturday’s protest.
“I’ve been involved in the protests for awhile now, and just the continued need to stand up and demonstrate that they are the minority and that we the American people will continue to stand up for democracy,” Novak said.
First-year student Carter Fredette said Saturday’s rally was the first time he ever attended a protest, and he joined because he’s proud of what it represents and wants to “see change” given everything happening under the Trump administration.
Saturday’s demonstration followed a smaller rally on Friday at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Around 100 demonstrators gathered for around three hours of speeches from leaders of groups, former federal employees and a member of Congress.
At Friday’s rally, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) condemned Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to multiple U.S. cities including D.C. and mass firings at government institutions, saying Trump weakened the civil service and targeting of marginalized groups, like immigrants and LGBTQ+ people. She said the nationwide protests demonstrate power held by the people and criticized the One Big Beautiful Bill Act while stating Democrats would not support a continuing resolution to reopen the federal government.
“I want you to know that we are going to hold out,” Waters said. “And we’re going to say over and over again, we want to negotiate — we will meet you anytime, anyplace, anywhere.”
Waters encouraged listeners to channel their anger toward Trump’s policies into peaceful protest and said Trump himself is perpetuating violence by sending the guard and military into cities including Los Angeles, Portland, Chicago and D.C.
“You’re not supposed to be angry, you’re supposed to be nice,” She said. “Not at this moment in the history of this country, no nice for us.”
Saturday’s rally ended around 2:15 p.m. Many attendees stuck around in the area after the rally was over to dance and display their protest signs.
New York City’s rally garnered over 300,000 protesters, and about 225,000 gathered in Chicago, according to data from nonprofit news outlet The Xylom. The nationwide protests remained largely peaceful, with Los Angeles reporting at least one arrest and Denver reporting 12.
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