No Kings: Resistance to Trump

In Bennington County, Vermont, on June 14, 2025. Photo by Michael Beach/Reuters

Stronger than on June 14th: this Saturday, October 18th in the United States, the No Kings movement, a coalition of about 200 progressive associations, is bringing together more than 2,600 gatherings across the American territory to "defend democracy against the authoritarian drift" of Donald Trump.

The No Kings movement has established itself over the past several months as one of the most visible faces of American political protest. This Saturday, October 18, it is organizing another national day of protest, presented as a call to "defend democracy against the authoritarian drift" of Donald Trump.

Origins and rise of the movement

Born in the wake of Donald Trump's re-election, No Kings—literally "No kings"—takes its name from the slogan of the American Revolutionary insurgents, who rejected all forms of monarchy. The movement experienced a spectacular surge during its first national mobilization on June 14, 2025, the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army and Trump's 79th birthday. On that day, more than five million people marched in over 2,000 cities, from major metropolises like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago to U.S. overseas territories.

A broad and decentralized coalition

The No Kings movement is a coalition of approximately 200 progressive organizations, ranging from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and MoveOn to the American Federation of Teachers and Greenpeace. The movement is committed to nonviolence: its websites offer tutorials on defusing tensions during rallies. Spokespeople like Ezra Levin (Indivisible) and Hunter Dunn emphasize the desire to "remind people that power belongs to the people."

The speech draws inspiration from Martin Luther King and the idea of a fair society, but also from the philosophy of the Occupy or Black Lives Matter movements, insofar as it advocates a participatory and horizontal democracy.

A symbol of civic resistance

The "No Kings" rallies often take place alongside official events: in June, they were held in response to the military parade organized by Trump in Washington. This October 18th, the mobilization occurred against the backdrop of a partial shutdown of the federal government and the deployment of troops to maintain order in several major cities. The protesters denounced the expansion of executive powers, the repression of migrants, attacks on civil rights, and the undermining of institutional checks and balances.

Amplified protest

Organizers are announcing more than 2,600 rallies across the country, more than last June. In Boston, Chicago, and Philadelphia, local authorities are expecting record crowds, sometimes combined with popular festivals. Several figures from the arts world, such as Robert De Niro, have voiced their support. In a viral video, the actor declares: "We've lived through two and a half centuries of democracy. We don't need a King Donald Premier."

On the Republican side, the movement is described as an "anti-American rally" or a "radical left-wing maneuver." Donald Trump, questioned this week, downplayed the significance of the demonstrations, claiming that "there would be very few people." His political allies have described it as a movement of "pro-Hamas leftists" or "antifa."

Beyond the protest itself, No Kings is part of a broader political strategy: preparing the ground for the 2026 midterm elections. Its initiators aim to transform the streets into a powerful electoral force by massively registering citizens to vote and supporting candidates opposed to Trumpism. The "No Kings" banner has thus become the rallying cry of a democratic America concerned about the concentration of power and the erosion of civil liberties.

Underlying the movement is a fear of a “monarchization” of the presidency, a metaphor that resonates in a country born from a revolution against kings. For its supporters, it is no longer simply a matter of challenging a president, but of reaffirming that the American Republic is not governed by decree, but by consent.

For the humanities , Ellen Jones

Two spokespeople for the No Kings movement: Ezra Levin and Hunter Dunn

Ezra Levin, co-founder of Indivisible, with his partner, Leah Greenberg. Photo DR

Ezra Levin is a co-founder of the progressive movement Indivisible , an organization created in 2016 to structure citizen resistance to Donald Trump's agenda. Originally from Texas, he grew up in Buda, a suburb of Austin. A 2007 graduate of Carleton College , he went on to earn a master's degree in public affairs from the Woodrow Wilson School (now the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs) at Princeton University.

Before co-founding Indivisible, Ezra Levin worked in the fight against poverty: first at AmeriCorps VISTA in San Jose, California, and then as deputy director of federal policy at Prosperity Now, a national anti-poverty NGO. He also served as a policy advisor to Democratic Congressman Lloyd Doggett between 2008 and 2011.

In late 2016, following Donald Trump's election, Ezra Levin and Leah Greenberg (his partner and co-founder) published the guide Indivisible: A Practical Guide for Resisting the Trump Agenda online . Inspired by Tea Party strategies, this document explained how to mobilize locally to pressure elected officials. The text went viral and gave rise to thousands of local activist groups across the country. In 2017, the collective formalized itself as a non-profit organization, the Indivisible Project , with Levin becoming its first president.

Under his leadership, Indivisible established itself as a pillar of American progressivism, mobilizing around themes such as democracy, civil rights, and social justice. In 2019, Levin and Greenberg were included in Time Magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in the world , as well as in Politico's ranking of the top agents of political change in the United States.

Ezra Levin is co-author of We Are Indivisible: A Blueprint for Democracy After Trump (Simon & Schuster, 2019), a manifesto tracing the genesis of the movement.

Hunter Dunn. Photo provided by 50501

Based in Los Angeles, Hunter Dunn is the national press coordinator for the 50501 collective – an acronym for "50 Protests, 50 States, 1 Movement" – one of the main partners in the No Kings coalition .

He emerged in 2025 as one of the movement's media faces, tasked with representing the organizers at major national mobilizations. In this role, he oversees the communication strategy of the 50501 network and participates in the logistical coordination of marches in all fifty states. In his public statements, he emphasizes the peaceful and decentralized nature of the movement, asserting that No Kings and its allies operate without major funding or a hierarchical structure. "We are not an organization, but a movement," he summarizes.

Before becoming involved at the federal level, Hunter Dunn was active in community-based groups providing aid to the homeless and defending civil rights in Los Angeles. He describes himself as a grassroots activist who began his activism in protests against police brutality and migrant deportations. His approach is based on principles of active nonviolence: he established teams of "peacekeepers," volunteers trained in de-escalation techniques, to protect protesters and ensure the peaceful nature of demonstrations.

Hunter Dunn is particularly scathing in his criticism of the Trump administration, which he accuses of "trampling on the American Constitution ." He champions a republican patriotism in its original sense: "This isn't about parties, it's about country, liberty, and dignity ," he stated in June 2025. According to him, the "No Kings" slogan doesn't target an individual but rather a dangerous trend: that of an executive branch that tends to behave like a monarchy. Hunter Dunn thus embodies the generational and civic dimension of the movement: young, independent, and rooted in local mobilizations, he represents the new generation of American activists mobilized to defend democracy and civil rights.

PORTFOLIO: NO KINGS IN PICTURES

Protesters in downtown Los Angeles carry a banner depicting

The preamble to the U.S. Constitution. Photo by Mario Tama / Getty Images

In Philadelphia. Photo Yuki Iwamura/AP

In Atlanta. Photo Alyssa Pointer/Reuters

In Buffalo, New York. Photo Craig Ruttle/Sipa USA/AP

In West Palm Beach, Florida, near Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump's residence. Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

In Chicago. Photo Octavio Jones/Reuters

In Asheville, North Carolina. Photo by Allison Joyce/AFP/Getty Images

A protester dressed in traditional indigenous clothing in Los Angeles. Photo Daniel Cole/Reuters

In Port Washington, New York. Photo Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

A woman gestures towards the mounted police officers who are intervening to disperse the protesters.

In Los Angeles. Photo Etienne Laurent/AFP/Getty Images

A child waves a flag as protesters gather in Brooklyn. Photo by Christian Monterrosa/Reuters

Constance Felton comforts Daisy Moran during a protest in Atlanta on Saturday.

Photo Arvin Temkar/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/AP

At Ocean Beach, San Francisco. Photo Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu/Getty Images

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