By Martha Grevatt
June 17, 2025

Democratic Party-affiliated groups, including Indivisible and 50501, have been organizing huge protests against the program of President Donald Trump with themes such as “Hands off” and the latest “No Kings Day.” Their goal is to contain the mass anger at Trump’s fascist attacks and channel it into the electoral arena. The politics of these protests are limited and, in some ways, even reactionary when slogans include such demands as “Hands off NATO” and participants were handed U.S. flags to carry.

Nevertheless, these actions — most recently the over 2,100 separate actions in all 50 states in which an estimated 5 to 8 million people participated — represent a mass movement against Trump’s draconian cutbacks to needed social programs. People want to protect the hundreds of thousands of federal workers whose jobs are on the chopping block.

What’s more, many among the millions out in the streets against Trump are expressing a will to go beyond the official program of the protest organizers. They are carrying signs saying “F-ck ICE” and “No one is illegal on stolen land.” Many are demonstrating visible support for a free Palestine — of which the publicity promoting No Kings Day made zero mention.

Trump’s parade fizzles

While millions were marching and rallying against Trump’s program, the much-ballyhooed parade for the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, which coincided with Trump’s birthday on June 14, drew a mere 9,000 reported spectators. The White House had predicted 200,000. That’s quite a contrast!

As these eyewitness reports will show, the masses of working-class and oppressed people were in the streets protesting, not celebrating with Trump. These reports offer some examples of protests in differing geographical areas but are not a comprehensive assessment of all the actions that took place on June 14.

No Kings Day in Philadelphia may have been among the larger actions in the country, as protesters, estimated to be around 80,000 by NBC News, gathered near City Hall and marched up the Benjamin Franklin Parkway for a rally on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. National organizers considered Philadelphia to be their “flagship” event, with Trump intent on throwing out the Constitution, originally drafted in this city almost 250 years ago.

Protesters, some coming from as far away as Maryland, carried signs addressing Trump’s attacks on immigrants and free speech, efforts to privatize the U.S. Postal Service, the growing police state, the attacks on women and trans people and more. Contingents ranged from a small grouping from the American Postal Workers Union to several hundred activists raising demands to end the genocide in Palestine. When one speaker said that voting for Democrats was the solution, participants in the Palestine contingent loudly chanted “No votes for genocide.”

Throughout the march and rally, people chanted “No ICE, no KKK, no fascist USA!” and “Stop starving Gaza!” and raised demands that speakers address the U.S./Israel wars in West Asia. The second to last official speaker, Georgia State Representative Ruwa Romman, did talk about Palestine, but this was the exception.

The march took place just days after over a dozen demonstrators were arrested in Center City while protesting the increasing number of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in the area, including the kidnapping of over 20 people in nearby Norristown, Pennsylvania. After the No Kings rally ended, a group of people marched to the Federal Detention Center being used by ICE.

Not only in big cities but also in small towns like Rhinebeck, New York, population less than 8,000, people mobilized in unprecedented numbers against the threatened Trump dictatorship. More than 500 people gathered at a playground near the public school to join together against the president’s latest actions. There was strong solidarity with migrants and opposing the use of National Guard troops and Marines against demonstrators.

Like Rhinebeck’s population, the demonstrators were 90% white. Many speakers were people of color, representing the left wing of the organized Democratic Party leaders, especially its more activist sector. The organizers distributed U.S. flags to the participants, but they also provided cardboard and markers for people to make their own signs. One that read “No deportations, No genocide, No war on Iran” got thumbs up even though it could apply equally to Republican and Democratic administrations.

According to the Atlanta news stations and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, there were 16 No Kings demonstrations across Georgia, with several taking place in metro Atlanta. There were thousands of people at many of them and hundreds in some of the many suburbs and smaller towns. There were many signs mocking Trump, U.S. flags and signs on health care and other social service cuts.

Most of the participants were white except for those at the protest on Buford Highway, which is in the largely Latine neighborhood that has been the site of a number of actions in support of immigrants. Some Palestine flags could be seen in the news coverage.

Big numbers in Ohio, West Virginia, Denver

At least 10,000 people joined the largest, but not the only, rally and march held in Cleveland on June 14. The demonstration was larger than the LGBTQIA2S+ Pride parade held a week earlier, which was itself one of the most well-attended in the city’s history.

Along with the dominant Democratic Party-promoted themes — patriotism, “No Kings,” saving democracy, etc. — there were many signs attacking ICE and defending migrants and more than a sprinkling of signs, flags and keffiyehs showing solidarity with Palestine. A few “No war on Iran” placards were spotted.

Homemade signs addressed a range of issues, condemning the cuts in Medicare, Medicaid, education, food assistance and other programs targeted in Trump’s “big beautiful bill” and rejecting fascism.

The action was one of a number of anti-Trump protests held around Northeast Ohio. Dozens of No Kings actions took place statewide.

Rallies were held in at least 15 small cities and towns throughout West Virginia on June 14. Among the towns where people demonstrated were Huntington, Charleston, Morgantown, Wheeling and Shepherdstown.

Members of Workers World Party distributed Workers World newspapers at the Charleston and Huntington events. There were over 1,000 people at the Charleston rally, which was held on the steps of the state Capitol building. Roughly 200 people demonstrated in downtown Huntington. Many demonstrators carried Palestinian, Mexican and Intersex-Inclusive Progress Pride flags. A few people had signs against the recent attacks on Iran.

Many of the signs focused on migrant rights and called for the abolition of ICE. ICE raided a popular restaurant in Huntington just a few days earlier and arrested several of the workers. A lot of the attendees are also concerned about how Medicaid and Medicare cuts could tragically impact rural communities.

A huge crowd exceeding 10,000 people, young and old, braved 90 degree heat in Denver to loudly express their anger at Trump and the policies that are threatening their lives. They marched through downtown and around the state capitol building. Threats to social services such as Medicaid, Social Security, education and jobs programs have angered Coloradans.

Many signs supported immigrants and opposed the Trump administration’s attacks on immigrant families and the lawlessness of how ICE, police, the National Guard and the military are being used. The disappearances and deportations of workers and students without due process is illegal and is terrorizing college campuses and peaceful working-class neighborhoods in Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver and other cities. A sign reading “Stop the deportations – Close down the detention centers!” received strong approval.

A very loud contingent was the anti-genocide, pro-Palestinian protesters with sign slogans reading “Stop The Starvation – FEED Gaza!” “Free Palestine!” they shouted. The young people said they were happy to see so many older folks, and the seniors got inspiration from the energy of the youth.

After the No Kings action, anti-ICE protesters attempted to go onto State Highway I25 to block traffic. Police fired projectiles and other “non lethal” weapons and arrested 36 people.

Protests showcase anti-Trump mobilizations in Texas

Hundreds of people gathered in the historic downtown area of Denton, Texas, to declare their opposition to the Trump regime, carrying signs such as “Billionaires are the only minority ruining our country” and chanting slogans like “No fascist USA!” Denton is in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area.

Speakers at the event, which lasted two hours, included Alfredo Muñoz, chairperson of the Caldwell County Democratic Party, who paid lip service to the class war going on in this country despite his political affiliation. He spoke of how the U.S. had been taken over by the oligarchs, how this was not a matter of “left and right, but top and bottom,” and said the working class needed to “demand their seat at the table.”

This sort of rhetoric is common among more “populist” members of the Democratic Party and more often than not carries little actual meaning. However, its distinct appeal to workers was notable in that the Democratic Party, even in its mission to co-opt and neutralize the struggle, realizes that this is a workers’ struggle, and thus that is who they must appeal to in these times.

Overall, the event was a significant demonstration of the workers’ opposition to Trump’s fascist policies, both in the case of his military parade in Washington and the ongoing ICE raids across the country. If the ruling class was convinced that Texans would be with them in their war on anyone who opposes fascism, they have been proven dead wrong.

Over 20,000 people gathered at Houston City Hall. Some were enjoying the huge crowd, some had very creative signs, and some were totally angry, just furious! Almost 2.5 million people live in Houston, and over 45% are Latine. So the issue of immigration and the recent ICE kidnappings are an urgent issue, and the majority of the signs reflected this.

Hundreds gathered in the Kingwood neighborhood in Houston, which is representative of exurban sprawl, in the first protest launched by the Kingwood chapter of Indivisible. Kingwood is a heavily Republican area, so demonstrations of this kind are unusual here. The protest was dominated by patriotic liberals who want to return the U.S. to the time before Trump first took office. Almost every attendee had a U.S. flag. Many people wore Democratic Party related merchandise and referenced the U.S. War of Independence and such on their signs.

That said, plenty of people carrying U.S. flags also had signs that referenced important issues, including trans rights, attacks on immigrants and seemingly everything except Palestine. There were a few younger marchers without flags, some of whose signs had more radical slogans such as “No one is illegal on stolen land.”

Protesters did not march but stood on the sidewalk in full view of oncoming traffic.

Many people were clearly very surprised that individuals were rallying against Donald Trump in Kingwood at all. A young Black adult passing by said that they were proud of everyone there and that it made them feel less alone. Another passerby, an elderly white person, said that they had thought they were the only Democrat in Kingwood.

About halfway into the rally, protesters were informed that a white supremacist group had shown up to counter-protest. However, they did not directly confront anyone and stayed in one specific area, so the protest continued as if they weren’t there.

Overall, this protest was unimpressive in terms of content, but it is noteworthy in terms of context. This is a heavily conservative, suburban area, and for hundreds of people to gather here against Donald Trump at all is unprecedented. It shows that even in areas that have long been bastions of reaction, opposition to Trump’s policies is growing, which can only be a good sign.

Huge actions in Pacific Northwest

Condemning the terror of ICE raids, as well as anti-worker cutbacks, layoffs and destruction of social welfare institutions, masses of people participated in Seattle’s No Kings march and rally. The Seattle Emergency Operations Center said the march was “in excess of 70,000.” (Seattle Times, June 14)

In the week leading up to the march there were protests against the ICE courts at the federal building downtown where migrants are terrorized, deported and experience family separation. A number of people were arrested after successfully blocking the ICE vehicle exits from the federal building.

The march travelled from Capitol Hill to the Seattle Center. Mass anger against the Trump regime was very clear in all the protest signs. In addition to “No Kings,” people also chanted “Free Palestine!” and several migrant rights chants.

Demonstrations were held all over the state of Washington — in working-class Seattle suburbs, at the University of Washington commencement and on a state ferry. In Tukwila, just outside Seattle, ICE and Tukwila cops attacked people at an ICE check-in site at the Department of Homeland Security. Police fired pepper balls and tear gas at the crowd of 150 people, which included activists and attorneys, and at least two people were detained.

The Seattle demonstration was mobilized by Indivisible, but the involvement of many layers of the working class showed the possibility of taking the struggle to a higher level.

Tens of thousands protested in Portland, Oregon, and in dozens of cities across the state. An anti-imperialist contingent grew throughout the downtown Portland rally, opposing U.S. support for Israel and its wars on Palestine and Iran and protesting the militarized assault on migrants in Los Angeles and cities throughout the country.

People at the rally were struck by the immensity of the crowd and the constant stream of thumbs up and honks by passing cars.

Alison G. marched with a crowd of thousands on the east side that took over the Hawthorne Bridge to join tens of thousands of protestors downtown. She said: “With all the harrowing events of the last few weeks, it was uplifting how many people came out to express their deep concerns about the chaotic and rash actions by this administration. Not once has my life nor anybody I know been adversely affected by an immigrant or trans person. What does affect our lives is affordable housing, the opioid epidemic, job security and tariffs. Maybe try solving our real problems and stop terrifying harmless communities.”

Revolutionaries will need to win the best elements of this new mass movement to an anti-capitalist perspective of breaking with both the Democrats and Republicans and building a united front against fascism and imperialism.

John Catalinotto, Alex Colwell, Dianne Mathiowetz, Jim McMahan, Lyn Neeley, Betsey Piette, Viviana Weinstein and the Workers World Houston and West Virginia bureaus contributed to this article.