Washington - Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
About 7 million people participated in protests under the name “We don’t want kings to rule us” against the Trump administration in the United States yesterday, Saturday. The organizers announced this. The measures were implemented in more than 2,700 locations across the country. According to what was published by Belgian media in Brussels, including the newspaper “Neusblad”.
Organizers said that Trump is ruling the country in an authoritarian manner. The demonstrators oppose, among other things, Trump's raids on immigrants, the US president's attempts to send soldiers to US cities and his cuts to programs favored by Democrats.
Demonstrations were held in all fifty US states. The massive protests on Saturday followed previous similar protests on June 14. Between 4 and 6 million people took to the streets. This made this protest the largest the United States had ever seen.
Although most of the marches were peaceful and enjoyable, there were riots here and there. For example, federal agents used tear gas against protesters at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland. No arrests were reported.
An uproar arose when a video surfaced of an officer spraying pepper spray into the air vent of a protester's inflatable costume.
Shame, shame, shame
As the parade passed Trump Tower, demonstrators chanted, "Shame! Shame! Shame!"
It was striking that the protests were more intense in cities where Trump wants to deploy the National Guard, such as Portland and Chicago. In downtown Chicago, a demonstration about three kilometers long under the slogan of the “No to Kings” movement marched through the streets surrounding Grant Park. Along the way, local car and train drivers showed their support by honking their horns as they passed; One bus driver even taped a "Hands Off Chicago" flyer to his car's dashboard. As the parade passed Trump Tower, some participants turned their backs on the building and chanted, "Shame! Shame! Shame!", as seems to be a tradition now, in reference to a striking scene in the hit series "Game of Thrones."
The White House responds briefly
The official White House X account shared a striking message in response to the protest marches. The short post read: "We're built differently. Have a good night everyone," accompanied by a crown emoji and two photos. The top depicts Trump and J.D. Vance wearing the crown. The bottom showed Democratic leaders of the House and Senate, Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer... wearing a sombrero, a reference to an earlier deepfake video Trump posted on his Truth Social channel in which he mocked Democrats by filming them wearing Mexican hats and playing mariachi music.