By Logan Kim
May 3, 2026 · 3 min readMay 3, 2026 (Saturday) – Logan Kim
On March 28, 2026, more than 8 million people gathered in over 3,300 events nationwide to protest against the recent Trump administration’s unreasonable and undemocratic policies, making it the largest domestic political protest in American history.
The major factors that led to the No Kings protest were the expanding powers of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the war in Iran, and the overall actions of Trump, which are seen as harming democratic norms such as bypassing standard legal procedures and using excessive amounts of force when arresting an immigrant.
In an interview with CBS “60 Minutes”, Host Noah O’ Donnell asked if ICE has overused their powers in recent operations. President Donald Trump, however, responded to the question saying “They haven’t gone far enough because we’ve been held back by the judges, by the Liberal judges that were put in by Biden and by Obama.”
Protestors on the site held up signs that criticized and humiliated Trump, sang, and chanted.
On the official No Kings website, organizers wrote, “the president thinks his rule is absolute. But in America, we don’t have kings — and we won’t back down against chaos, corruption, and cruelty”.
President Trump has increased funding for ICE, making it the highest funded government agency with $85 billion dollars at its disposal.
This has become a problem since ICE has increasingly used excessive force and militarized tactics when arresting immigrants, which ultimately caused the killing of American citizens, including Renée Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota.
Such incidents have shocked people across the world, and the voices of disapproval towards ICE and the Trump administration have grown significantly.
Moreover, American involvement in the Iran war has had a disastrous outcome for the United States.
After the declaration of war at the end of February, oil prices increased significantly, affecting everyday workers who drive to work.
President Trump has responded to the oil price increase as a “very small price to pay,” and said that it is only going to be a short-lived effect.
He added on to his claim by saying, “Short turmoil prices, which will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over, are a very small price to pay for the U.S.A., and the world’s safety and peace.”
The first No Kings protest, with over 2100 events nationwide, happened on June 14th, 2025, to coincide with President Trump’s birthday and a military parade in Washington D.C.
The second round of the No Kings protest with over 2700 events happened on October 18th, 2025, gathering more people than the previous round.
The third No Kings protests took place across major cities, suburbs, and old towns.
Some major cities included Washington, D.C., St.Paul, Minnesota, New York, and Los Angeles.
The most symbolic city among all major cities was St. Paul in Minnesota, where the killing of Renée Good and Alex Pretti occurred.
More than 50,000 people gathered as the organizers had promised them a high - profile lineup of speakers and artists, including Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and American artist Bruce Springsteen.
Bruce Springsteen has said, "Your strength and your commitment told us that this was still America, and this reactionary nightmare, and these invasions of American cities, will not stand."
The name “No Kings” came from the idea of rejecting monarchy and emphasizing that no president is absolute in the United States.
The name also criticizes President Trump’s misleading and non–democratic policies, such as declaring war on Iran without the agreement of Congress.
President Trump has not yet responded to the third No Kings protest. However, he had responded to the previous events saying, “I am not a king, I work my ass off to make our country great again.”
Logan Kim
Grade 8
Liberty Middle School (VA, USA)
Written on May 3, 2026 (Sunday)
