A man bicycles with several flags past a helicopter on display during preparations for an upcoming military parade commemorating the Army’s 250th anniversary and coinciding with President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
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Jacquelyn Martin/AP
About 2,000 “No Kings” protests are planned Saturday in response to the Trump administration’s plans to hold a large-scale military parade this weekend, an event organizer told NPR.
Organizers are accusing the president of putting on the parade as a show of dominance and a celebration of his 79th birthday, which is also on Saturday. The Army has been planning some form of anniversary celebration for over a year, but the parade was a recent addition. It will commemorate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, and falls on Flag Day. A peacetime military parade is rare in the U.S. and has drawn criticism from Trump’s political rivals.
“No Kings” organizers describe the protests as a “day of defiance…to reject authoritarianism—and show the world what democracy really looks like” on their website.
The statement continues, “We’re showing up everywhere he isn’t—to say no thrones, no crowns, no kings.”
Trump on Thursday was asked about the protests, and told reporters, “I don’t feel like a king. I have to go through hell to get stuff approved.”
The demonstrations were put together by a coalition of more than 200 organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union, American Federation of Teachers and the Communications Workers of America. Protests are scheduled in every state, but not in Washington, D.C. Instead, organizers are encouraging interested D.C. residents to gather in Philadelphia — the flagship “No Kings” protest. Philadelphia was America’s first capital and was the birthplace of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.
The “No Kings” protests started after Trump’s inauguration in February. They have additionally gathered in protest against the way the Trump administration has cracked down on immigrants and cut the federal workforce.
According to the organizers’ website, the protesters are avoiding the nation’s capital “to draw a clear contrast between our people-powered movement and the costly, wasteful, and un-American birthday parade in Washington.”
It is estimated to cost between $25 and 45 million, and will feature 6,000 Army soldiers, 49 aircraft, 128 vehicles, and 25 horses. Trump wanted to hold the parade during his first term, but it was scrapped because it was too expensive. He was inspired after attending the annual Bastille Day parade in France in 2017. That parade celebrates French mobs taking over the Bastille state prison in 1789.
In a document with guidance for participants and organizers, “No Kings” stressed that participants should practice nonviolence and de-escalate any conflicts with outside parties.
Trump said Tuesday, “By the way, for those people that want to protest, they’re going to be met with very big force. And I haven’t even heard about a protest, but you know, this is people that hate our country.”
