On Saturday, about 8 million people poured into the streets of over 3,300 cities across all 50 states for “No Kings!” demonstrations in opposition to the Trump administration. This was the 3rd and largest “No Kings!” protest since Trump’s second term started. Protests ranged from places like New York City, where over 350,000 marched, to Kotzebue, Alaska – a small city of approximately 3,000 residents in rural northern Alaska. While almost all big cities had demonstrations, two-thirds of people that RSVP’d online to attend a protest came from outside of major cities, many in states that are controlled by Republicans.
There are plenty of reasons to be in the streets. The attacks on working people are accelerating. Programs that millions depend on are being slashed, from healthcare and food assistance to environmental protections and scientific research. The money from these cuts is going straight into the pockets of billionaires through trillions of dollars in tax breaks, and to fuel the U.S.-Israeli war machine being unleashed on the people of Iran, Lebanon, and the broader Middle East, which is now in its second month. And the Pentagon is seeking an additional $200 billion in funding for the war. And the U.S. is sending 17,000 more troops to the region, in addition to the 50,000 already there.
The U.S. and Israeli military have already struck 25,000 targets in Iran. More than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran, along with 13 U.S. service members. Millions within Iran have been displaced. And the war has closed the Strait of Hormuz, driving up oil, food, and gas prices for working families in the U.S. and around the world, who are already stretched by rising inflation.
And while this war rages on, Israel – with complete and total U.S. backing and military support – has launched a devastating new assault on Lebanon. Since early March, Israeli forces have killed over 1,200 people in Lebanon, murdering journalists covering the invasion, and displacing over a million people from their homes – about 1 in 4 people in the county have been displaced. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has now instructed the Israeli military to expand their invasion of southern Lebanon even further, as Israel intends to occupy and annex part of southern Lebanon, just like they have been doing to Palestinians in Gaza during their genocidal war. None of Israel’s actions in Lebanon would be possible without full U.S. support and protection.
In the face of a government that prioritizes the interests of war profiteers and billionaires over our lives, the “No Kings!” protests are an important step that points to where our power lies, and where we need to look if we want to change this situation. The protests showed us yet again that there are millions of us opposed to the Trump regime’s attacks and war. These protests give us a chance to express our anger and see that we are not alone. But we also know that they are not enough.
We can’t forget the lessons learned from the response to ICE in Minneapolis. It wasn’t Democratic Party politicians that confronted ICE in Minneapolis – it was ordinary people organizing to take action into their own hands. Rapid-response networks spread across neighborhoods. People blew whistles to warn their neighbors. Daily demonstrations surrounded the federal building where detainees were held. And the people of Minneapolis organized two days of “No Work, No School, No Business as Usual” to shut their city down. The sustained pressure of an organized community forced this administration to withdraw the bulk of its forces. That is what our power can look like to oppose these wars and all the attacks we face – but only when we organize to use it.
The election of Democrats is not a solution or a substitute for organizing to solve our problems directly. Democrats defend the same system, the same wars, the same deportation machine, and the same corporate interests. Voting them back in will not be enough to stop what is happening. Our real power is not in the ballot box, but in our numbers and our capacity to organize.
It is our work that makes their system run, and when we organize our forces collectively, we can use that power to the make the changes we need. If we can build on what was shown this past weekend in the “No Kings!” protests, we can more effectively resist the attacks and policies of the Trump administration. And in the process of doing this, we can build up the forces that have the power to bring about a world that serves all of us – not just the billionaires at the top of their system.
