Thousands gathered in and around New York City on Saturday for “No Kings” protests, which were among approximately 2,000 demonstrations held nationwide against the policies of the Trump administration.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the protests marked a nonviolent resistance to the Trump administration, reflecting concerns that President Donald Trump may be using the military to prop his image and advance political objectives.
The protests coincided with a military parade in Washington, D.C., celebrating the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary.
It was also Donald Trump’s 79th birthday.
“Government gone wild, threat of fascism, breaking the laws left and right, courts can’t keep up.
Everything is happening so fast, generally just disaffection and people trying to speak up for those who are having a hard challenge speaking up right now,” said Tom Friedman, a protester. Another protester, Kathleen McPherson, stated that the United States is a nation built on immigration, and diversity enhances its greatness.
She criticized the Trump administration’s decision to deploy U.S. Marines to suppress protests against immigration raids in Los Angeles, arguing that it contradicts the country’s foundational values.
“We’re a country of immigration. That is what we’re founded on. Everyone has their own backgrounds and its what makes us so beautiful. Diversity is actually one of the greatest competitive advantages in business and then thinking, and then thought. So like when I think about all the things that come together, what’s going to unify us is the most important. And it’s that we’re all humans and we all want the right to be happy and the pursuit of that,” said McPherson. Jerome Adams, another protester, expressed his concern about the United States’ diminishing standing in the world. “I have a lot of big concerns.
The other big concern would be the fact that our place in the world is being degraded constantly. My main concern is the mistreatment of people that have come to this country for a better life, which is pretty much on what this country was built on,” Adams said.
