In big cities and small towns across the world, protesters gathered for thousands of rallies against President Trump and his policies and actions, with the self-stated goal of fighting dictatorship.
Demonstrators, including elected officials and community leaders, chanted defiant messages and carried homemade signs that condemned the war in Iran, threats against voting rights and the White House’s mass deportation push, among other topics. Organized by a coalition of activist groups under the banner “No Kings,” it was the third such countrywide protest in the past 10 months.
Lex McMenamin, Fabiola Cineas, Rachel Leingang and Amy Qin (GUARDIAN) explain, "More than 3,000 No Kings protests against the Trump administration were held nationwide and in more than a dozen countries on Saturday, according to a coalition of organizers that includes “anti-authoritarian” groups Indivisible and 50501, labor unions and other grassroots organizations." NPR has a photo essay here.
In New York, the Heat actor was among those leading the procession, alongside Rev. Al Sharpton and Attorney General Letitia James. During his speech, he called the gatherings a “great rallying cry, and hugely successful as millions of us have answered the call.”
[. . .]
In St. Paul, Minn., Springsteen was also joined by Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Ilhan Omar and Gov. Tim Walz at one of the largest rallies in the country, where he sang “Streets of Minneapolis,” the song he introduced after the ICE killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.
“This past winter, federal troops brought death and terror to the streets of Minneapolis,” the heartland rock musician said. “Well, they picked the wrong city. The power and the solidarity of the people of Minneapolis, Minnesota was an inspiration to the entire country. Your strength and commitment told us that this is still America, and this reactionary nightmare and these invasions of American cities will not stand.”
Fonda also appeared, and read a statement from Becca Good, the wife of Renee Good. “The world now knows that my wife sparkled with sunshine and shone with kindness that is unmatched,” Good said in the statement. “We were robbed of an incredible human. It has made people pause, and take a breath, and have to choose sides. We choose the side of love.”
Thousands of Americans plan to gather on Saturday for No Kings protests across the country. They have a simple message: People are tired of a government that protects the powerful and abandons ordinary Americans.
They are tired of fighting costly and illegal overseas wars while we face an affordability crisis at home. They are horrified by the Trump administration’s cover-up of the Epstein files and the lack of accountability for the rich and powerful who crossed lines. And they are sick of Immigration and Customs Enforcement terrorizing our communities.
As more Americans are sent to fight abroad and the survivors of abuse are silenced at home, people increasingly feel dispensable.
But we are not disposable. We are not dispensable. The American people are uniting to demand accountability.
For too long, Americans have seen our leaders fight harder for the Epstein class than for the working class. They have watched our system shield elites instead of delivering fundamentals such as affordable health care, housing and education.
The fight to release the Epstein files exposed not only a broken justice system, but also a deep economic and moral divide.
Jeffrey Epstein built a network of elite and powerful individuals, some of whom believed they could abuse young girls and women — many from working-class backgrounds — without consequences. Many survivors of Epstein’s abuses have courageously spoken out, and over the past year, sparked a moral reckoning in our country. They have exposed a two-tier system of justice that protects the wealthy and powerful and fails those who have been abused.
The administration’s failure to hold accountable those involved in Epstein’s abuses has fueled deep distrust in our government and its ability to deliver for the public good.
Rebuilding faith in our system requires transparency and accountability.
In every state, people turned out. Let's hop around and note some of the protests across the US today. Joshua Bowling and Julia Goldberg (SOURCE NEW MEXICO) report:
As a local grunge band played their final song of the morning, they set the tone for the rest of the day’s remarks at Saturday’s No Kings protest in Albuquerque’s Montgomery Park.
“Well maybe they’re the fascists, America,” the New Mexico band ShyGuy belted out, in a modified cover of Green Day’s 2004 anti Iraq-war hit “American Idiot.” “I’m not a part of the MAGA agenda.”
Protestors across the state flocked to the park in northeast Albuquerque to protest what they described as the Trump administration’s attacks on elections, the war in Iran and the Epstein files. The event played out as others did all across the country, with millions expected by day’s end.
In Albuquerque, as the sun loomed overhead, attendees gathered to hear from Stacey Abrams, a Democrat who previously ran to be governor of Georgia and worked to boost statewide voter turnout in the 2020 election.
“Across this country, we have watched the devolution of democracy in real time,” she told a standing room-only crowd in Albuquerque. “You have someone who was elected president, but makes himself a dictator.”
She took aim at the Trump administration’s attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives nationally and said that she viewed the effort as inherently anti-American.
“DEI is in our DNA in America,” she said.
“Democracy has cost this country too much” to relinquish now, said Brian Doherty, a U.S. Army veteran from Fort Pierre who attended the Pierre demonstration. “I pray the people of this country go out and vote.”
Throughout the protest, he reminded people to check if they were registered to vote.
This was the third round of No Kings protests across the country. Previous protests in June and October drew crowds of thousands.
This was the largest crowd for a No Kings demonstration in Pierre, according to Dawson Lewis, Hughes County Democrats chairperson and organizer. About 20 people RSVP’d for the demonstration, he said, but nearly 200 showed up at its peak.
“Policies are at the whim of one man,” Lewis said. “Gas prices going up, food prices going up, fertilizer prices going up for the farmers. I think people are just getting tired of the chaos.”
Thousands of people gathered for a “No Kings” protest in front of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver on Saturday. The demonstration was one of more than 70 organized across the state.
Taking place nationwide, these protests mark the third “No Kings” protest since President Donald Trump began his second term.
Attendees protested the Trump administration’s policies, including recent actions to enter war with Iran and expand immigration enforcement actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). They also spoke out against the failure to reach a budget agreement for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), causing a partial government shutdown.
Protestors carried signs stating, “No Monarchs except butterflies” and “Hate will not make America great,” among others, as they walked around Lincoln Veterans Memorial Park in downtown Denver. Some stood along Broadway holding up their signs for cars to honk in support.
At 1:15 p.m., attendees walked to the corner of East Colfax Ave. and Lincoln St. to begin a three-mile march, ending back at the State Capitol.
Eladio Jaramillo, 48, carried a sign honoring Alex Pretti, the intensive care nurse with ties to Colorado, killed by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis on January 24. He said he wanted to keep Pretti’s memory alive.
“Obviously, things aren't getting any better,” Jaramillo said. “I think the more numbers we can get out here to show that people are fed up with not just Trump, this whole administration, the better.”
Bob Sesek knows that protesting the Trump administration is a small, and likely ineffective, act in Alabama. But he went to Toomer’s Corner in Auburn Saturday with about 700 people doing just that Saturday morning.
“I feel like we’re at a point where if we don’t stand up, there will be no more chance to stand up. I really believe that,” Sesek said. “I know we’re in Alabama, and Alabama’s not going to flip, or switch, or do anything like that, but the rest of the county needs to see that even people in Alabama are fed up and know that this is wrong.”
[. , ,]
Jimmy Stirling, organizer of Calhoun County’s 50501 Movement, which hosted the protest, invited candidates running in the state’s primary elections to speak to the crowd.
“We as a group will not be voting for anybody with the letter R behind their name come November,” he said. “This is a coalition. We have got to make change come November, and it’s gonna take all of us, whether we’re Democrats, independents, whatever party or no party. “
Protesters in the crowd cheered and hollered as the candidates shared the changes they wanted to make. Pam Howard, a Democratic candidate for Alabama House District 40, told the crowd that she didn’t want to run “an ideological campaign.”
“Our government should not be telling us how to live. Our government should be creating an environment that gives us the opportunity to live our best lives.”
Kyle Pfannenstiel (IDAHO CAPITAL SUN) notes:
The protest came just a day after the Idaho Legislature passed what some advocates call the most extreme anti-transgender bathroom ban in the U.S. House Bill 572, which heads to Gov. Brad Little for final consideration, would create a felony crime for people who violate the bathroom ban twice within five years, punishable by up to five years in prison.
Maxine Durand, a Democratic candidate for governor in Idaho, told the crowd she’d rather be talking about other policies — like Medicare for all, raising the minimum wage, and expanding the state’s public education system.
“Instead, I have to argue with old men about where I get to pee,” Durand told the crowd.
Organizers with the American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho encouraged protestors to tell the governor to veto the bill.
[. . .]
Terri Pickens, who is also running for Idaho governor as a Democrat, said Idahoans like the government to “stay out of our businesses.”
“We certainly want them to stay out of our bedrooms, our doctors offices, our schools and our libraries. But they can’t seem to get that right in Idaho,” Pickens said.
Emilia Otte, Theo Peck-Suzuki and Reginald David (CONNETICUT MIRROR) note:
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Attorney General William Tong and Gov. Ned Lamont spoke at a protest organized by Indivisible CT on Saturday morning. In the afternoon, more protesters gathered on the opposite side of the Capitol, where Rep. Josh Elliott, D-Hamden, who is challenging Lamont for the Democratic nomination for governor, spoke alongside labor leaders and representatives for the Connecticut for All Coalition.
Lamont, Tong and Blumenthal focused on the actions taken in Connecticut to check some of the policies of the federal government. Tong said he had filed more than 50 lawsuits against the Trump administration, in response to the federal government’s attempts to cut health care and school funding, to block the Revolution Wind project and to institute broad tariffs.
Lamont criticized the SAVE America Act, which, if passed by congress, would require people to present proof of citizenship and a photo identification in order to vote. He also criticized the administration’s request for funds to continue the war in Iran.
“ This is 250 years [after the U.S. was founded]. We’re not going backwards. We’re not going backwards in this country, and God, we’re not going backwards in the state of Connecticut. We’re going to stand up and fight,” Lamont said.
Juan Salinas II and Cindy Gonzalez (NEBRASKA EXAMINER) report:
Hundreds of Nebraskans protested against the Trump administration Saturday along Nebraska Parkway in Lincoln, and thousands protested near Northwest Radial Highway in Omaha as part of No Kings demonstrations statewide.
[. . .]
“I don’t like what’s going on … I know it’s not the world I want to live in,” said Ford Kloepper, a 17-year-old Lincoln resident.
Kloepper said people his age are going to take the “brunt” of Trump’s “mistakes.” He pointed to the recent U.S. conflict in Iran as a motivator to protest for him, as he doesn’t want to get “drafted into a war in the Middle East for no reason at all.”
Many of the protesters, much like previous demonstrations, held anti-Trump signs with slogans like, “Trump lies” and “Stop Trump, save democracy.” Others held American flags and wore costumes. Volunteers from different groups gathered signatures for ballot initiatives and at least one candidate. One of the petitions sought to let voters decide on a state constitutional amendment requiring larger majorities to repeal or change any law passed by voters. Volunteers for nonpartisan U.S. Senate candidate Dan Osborn collected signatures to get him on the November ballot.
Thousands of people crossed the Broadway Bridge connecting Little Rock and North Little Rock Saturday as rallies and other events were held in Arkansas as part of the third “No Kings” demonstrations nationwide against the Trump administration.
Protesters sang and waved signs opposing the Iran war, mass deportations and other actions by President Donald Trump’s White House as they walked across the bridge spanning the Arkansas River. The event was among rallies in 19 cities around Arkansas.
“I believe in the cause that these people are standing for today, and [protesting] is such a little thing to do, but at age 86 that’s all I can do,” said Little Rock resident Mary Ruth Brown, who attended her third “No Kings” protest. Brown held a sign reading “Dump Trump” that she said a friend chose for her.
The People’s Protests and Marches of AR hosted the Little Rock rally, which included a “Community Connect Fair” and several speakers on the North Little Rock side of the river. Indivisible LRCA, the League of Women Voters of Arkansas and 50501 Arkansas also hosted the Little Rock event.
Standing on the capitol’s nearly off-limits Flag Plaza, Democratic former Montana Gov. Steve Bullock critiqued Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte for initially creating an obstacle to the weekend event.
“When the current governor tried to silence your voices to make it so that you can not gather here on the steps of the people’s house, you stood up and said ‘No, that’s not who we are,’” he said. (The state initially said it changed the permitting to save money.)
Claudia Clifford, an organizer with Indivisible Helena, a local chapter of the national Indivisible group involved in organizing No Kings protests, praised the public, media and state Democrats for pushing to change the state permit rule.
“The strength of our constitutional rights of free speech and assembly are seven days a week and that helped provide this venue today,” said Clifford to an audience which nearly filled the entire Capitol front lawn.
In Gallatin, about 300 showed up to the No Kings protest on Main Street. A solo guitarist strummed and sang the late Tom Petty’s classic song, “I won’t back down”
Local residents Josh and April Mitchell said there isn’t enough poster board to hold all of their complaints about the president. Josh Mitchell held a sign saying “Only you can prevent fascism.”
They attended the protest “just to support everything that’s supposed to be right about humanity,” he said. Under the Trump administration people are being killed in the streets and deported illegally, he said.
Brian Sullivan with The Equality Project told the crowd it would be easy to get discouraged by the “full-on assault” on marriages and LGBTQ rights. “But you showed up,” he said. He pointed out that the Tennessee Legislature’s first bill passed this year attacked the LGBTQ community and alluded to a House-passed measure that pries into LGBTQ healthcare. Other measures were deferred “because you showed up,” he said.
Cole Shepherd, an Air Force veteran, also addressed those gathered in Gallatin, criticizing the president’s actions abroad: “We’re sending our young men and women into harm’s way for no reason,” he said.
“The people fight back!” yelled the crowd.
“It feels like our country is a joke … with a government that’s so unjust,” said Jennifer Arteaga, 25, who attended with her 3-year-old son. “It’s his future we’re talking about.”
Jackie Arteaga, 20, lives 20 minutes from the proposed detention facility, and said she worries about seeing ICE agents in her community.
“It’s a scary feeling to know that I might be seeing them at the Wawa by my house,” said Jackie Arteaga. “What do I do?”
Jennifer Arteaga criticized the use of the empty warehouse for ICE, saying that resources could be used to house homeless people in the area instead. Jackie Arteaga also worried about the impact of the facility on her area’s water and sewage system — which state officials cited as barriers in administrative orders earlier this month.
Protesters carried U.S. flags, some of them positioned upside down to signal dire distress. There were many signs critical of the Trump administration.
Megan McKay, a Madison resident who grew up in the Chicago area, told the Wisconsin Examiner that immigration was the main issue that brought her out to protest for a third time since Trump took office, due to personal experience that has shaped her outlook. She said her father immigrated to the U.S. from Belfast, Northern Ireland when he was “wee” but received a deportation letter in 2019. She said they were lucky to be able to work through the system to allow him to stay.
“We, quote, unquote, look like we’re supposed to be here. We speak English. I feel like it’s completely unacceptable what this current administration is doing,” McKay said. “Our country was founded on immigrants. We are the land of opportunity, and we’ve completely lost sight of that.”
McKay said she thinks more people are having an “aha” moment about Trump, and she is confident there could be a blue wave in this year’s midterm elections. Wisconsin will have critical elections on the ballot for governor, the state Legislature and Congressional seats in November
The potential release is part of the Trump administration’s aggressive push to investigate Swalwell, a vocal critic of President Donald Trump and a leading Democratic candidate for California governor, according to the people familiar with the effort. It is highly unusual for the FBI to release case files tied to a probe that did not result in criminal charges.
[. . .]
The lengths that Patel’s circle is going to in the bid to pursue a political foe of the president have raised alarms within the bureau, where some officials fear that releasing the files — even with redactions — could compromise law enforcement sources and investigatory methods, making it harder for the FBI to gain trust with potential witnesses.
Warren: “I'm all for older Americans working longer if they want to work longer. But let’s not confuse wanting to work with being forced to work because the Trump administration is taking a sledgehammer to Social Security”
Social Security Expert: Raising retirement age could lead to up to 50% benefits cut
Washington, D.C. — At a hearing of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) questioned Dan Adcock of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare about Republicans’ plans to raise the retirement age.
Mr. Adcock explained that if the Trump administration were to raise the retirement age by one year, it would cost retirees $24,000 in missed benefits, which amounts to about a 7% benefit cut. If the administration were to raise the retirement age by three years, it would amount to a 20% benefit cut.
Mr. Adcock also highlighted that a cut would disproportionately hurt low-income individuals and people without a college degreee—who are more likely to work physically demanding jobs and have to retire early. He underscored that people who retire early out of need often live less on average, meaning that a combination of raising the retirement age on top of a shorter retirement would amount to an even steeper cut.
“I'm all for older Americans working longer if they want to work longer. But let’s not confuse wanting to work with being forced to work because the Trump administration is taking a sledgehammer to Social Security,” said Senator Warren.
“Social Security is not charity. It is a promise…that people have earned. The Trump administration is trying to strip away the promise, trying to chisel it, trying to shrink it up, and then rebrand it as an opportunity to work. Americans aren't buying it and we will keep fighting back,” Senator Warren concluded.
Senator Warren’s Social Security Emergency Inflation Relief Act would increase benefits by $200 a month for every senior and would protect the program long-term.
Last spring, Senator Warren launched the Social Security War Room, a coordinated effort for Democrats to fight Trump’s mishandling of the Social Security Administration. Through that effort, she has exposed inconsistencies in SSA’s customer service metrics under Commissioner Frank Bisigano and investigated the agency’s mishandling of customer service through staff cuts and reassignments.
Transcript: Hearing on Examining the Social Security Retirement Earnings Test
Senate Special Committee on Aging
March 25, 2026
Senator Elizabeth Warren: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. So, when he ran for President in 2024, Donald Trump repeatedly promised that he “wouldn’t touch” Social Security. And as soon as he took office, he immediately directed Elon Musk—who thinks Social Security is a “ponzi scheme”—to DOGE his way through the Social Security Administration. He slashed staff, he created new administrative hurdles that make it harder for Americans to get their checks—money that they earned. That is effectively a benefits cut.
Senate Democrats have fought back, and we have forced the Trump Administration to reverse course on some of their most harmful policies. But this fight is not over. The Social Security Administration is still facing a customer service crisis, and the Trump Administration and Republicans are still looking for ways to cut Social Security. So their current approach is: making Americans work until they drop dead.
So, just listen to what Trump’s appointees are saying: When asked about raising the retirement age, Social Security Administrator Frank Bisigano said: “everything’s being considered and will be considered.”
Mr. Adcock, you are a Social Security expert. How would raising the retirement age affect Americans’ benefits?
Dan Adcock, Director of Government Relations and Policy at the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare: Well, simply put, it’s a benefits cut. It doesn't matter whether you claim benefits at 62 or 70 or how long you live, it is a benefit cut any way you slice it. And so, for every year you decide that you’re going to raise the retirement age, you are losing $24,000 of income for every year.
In your future benefits, for every year it’s increased, you are losing about 7% of your benefits.
Senator Warren: So raising the retirement age on Social Security by one year costs $24,000 and, over your lifetime, is about a 7% benefit cut. Is that right?
Mr. Adcock: For each year.
Senator Warren: For each year?
Mr. Adcock: Yeah, that’s right. Some of the proposals being discussed would raise it from 67 to 69 or 67 to 70.
Senator Warren: So, if you go to 70 — if you do the math — how big is the cut?
Mr. Adcock: Well, it ends up being about a 20% future cut.
Senator Warren: 20% future cut. Okay. So, Frank Bisignano is not alone in this. After the Republicans blew trillions of dollars on the tax cut for their rich buddies in their Big Beautiful Bill, Dr. Oz said the way we dig out of the deficit is having, “the average American work a year later and not retire.”
Mr. Adcock, how many Americans without a college degree work in physically demanding jobs?
Mr. Adcock: In that category of people who don't have college educations, about 41% of them.
Senator Warren: So what does it mean to work an extra year?
Mr. Adcock: It means an extra year that you don't have benefits — and especially when we’re talking about this particular group of people who need to retire early — generally their longevity isn't as long. I think I have seen studies where when you take the bottom half of the income scale, they live about five years less than the people at the top of the income scale.
Senator Warren: Wow.
Mr. Adcock: And the other part of this is, if you do have a physically demanding job, you are likely to be from a community of color. In these situations it means that you’re going to need to claim benefits early. Today under current law, if you claim early at 62, you're taking about a 30% cut to your benefits, had you not waited until your full retirement age, which is currently at 67. But if you were to raise the retirement age to 70, we are talking about a 50% cut.
Senator Warren: Wow. And I just want to add in this, there are obviously also people who have college degrees who also have physically demanding jobs.
Am I right on that?
Mr. Adcock: Absolutely.
Senator Warren: My favorite example are kindergarten teachers. Try it sometime. But unsurprisingly, Dr. Oz is not thinking about the millions of Americans who work in manual labor and have physically demanding jobs, many of whom have ground their bodies for decades at construction sites, hauling boxes in warehouses, scrubbing bathroom floors and literally may not be capable of adding work.
Indeed, as you say, these are often people who have to retire early because they are just physically spent. And look, I'm all for older Americans working longer if they want to work longer. But let’s not confuse wanting to work with being forced to work because the Trump administration is taking a sledgehammer to Social Security.
Instead of hanging those workers out to dry, we should be expanding and protecting Social Security, especially when tariffs and war are now driving up prices for seniors, for everybody in the country.
So, Mr. Adcock, how could we pay for bigger Social Security benefits?
Mr. Adcock: Our preferred solution would be making the wealthy pay their fair share.
Senator Warren: Yeah, that seems right to me. Look, we’ve got to make sure the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share and not force seniors to work until they drop dead.
Right now a billionaire — Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Elon Musk — pays as much in Social Security taxes as someone who makes $175,000 a year. I have a bill to fix that and it would raise enough money to increase benefits by $200 per month for every senior, and help stabilize Social Security and make sure it is around for the long haul. Social Security is not charity. It is a promise. And it is a promise that people have earned. The Trump administration is trying to strip away the promise, trying to chisel it, trying to shrink it up, and then rebrand it as an opportunity to work.
Americans aren't buying it and we will keep fighting back. Thank you Mr. Chairman.
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