Demonstrators rally across US on parade day

Chanting protesters flooded streets across the United States since Saturday morning for "No Kings "Day, rallying against the administration across multiple policy areas.

As the Donald Trump administration slashes funding for federal agencies, it spent an estimated $25 million to $45 million on a military parade in Washington on Saturday, marking the 250th anniversary of the US Army. The event, which coincided with Trump's 79th birthday, featured nearly 6,600 troops, tanks, armored vehicles and helicopters.

The demonstrations spread in waves throughout the day, stretching from the capital to major cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Houston and Chicago.

Roughly 2,000 protests unfolded across the US — and in countries including Mexico, South America and across Europe — to counter Trump and his administration, as a military parade marched through Washington.

"In America, we don't do kings," read the "No Kings" website, run by the organizers alongside a coalition of about 100 groups, which organized the nationwide protest.

"They've defied our courts, deported Americans, disappeared people off the streets, attacked our civil rights, and slashed our services. The corruption has gone too far. No thrones. No crowns. No kings," the website stated.

Police presence and security protocols were heightened nationwide. In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott deployed the state's National Guard ahead of "No Kings" Day and in response to continuing protests over Trump's immigration agenda.

In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis drew backlash after stating that drivers could legally run over protesters if surrounded — a comment that critics say encourages violence against demonstrators.

"They could have used that money to keep me employed or something," Blair Retnauer, a resident of the District of Columbia-Maryland-Virginia area, told China Daily. "Why is there $45 million going to a parade? There are a lot more unemployed people right now who need that."

Retnauer said the Department of Government Efficiency recently ended her contract as a graphic designer with the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate.

Beverly Howard of Fairfax, Virginia, who joined the "No Kings" protest, said: "I care about our freedom. I care about immigrants and people. Families are being broken up and snatched from their homes. Children are left without their parents. This is the cruelest that we've ever been."

Pedro Gonzalez, an immigration attorney in Northern Virginia, said he decided to join the rally — his first protest — in response to what he sees as the current administration's crackdown on immigration policies.

"It really does hurt a lot of people. It really scares a lot of people. Almost everyone, in one way or another, is either an immigrant, knows an immigrant or has family who were immigrants. That's the biggest issue for me."

He added that the administration's actions have affected people without citizenship at different levels, while its border policy also bothered him.

"To me, it's just bad governance. Any cuts to social safety nets like Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security, or giving more breaks to wealthy corporations — that doesn't help people. It's going to hurt me, it's going to hurt everyone. That's the big driver for me."

In the New York area, demonstrations were planned at Bryant Park and Columbia University in Manhattan, among other places in other boroughs and in New Jersey, as well as the northern suburbs.

Some small-scale protests against the Trump administration have been already taking place since national troops entered Los Angeles. During the past week, about 120 people have been arrested in New York.

'Rights violated'

Meg Fagan, 56, told China Daily: "They're showing up to fight for our rights — for everybody's rights. Our constitutional rights are being violated at every turn. We have the right to free speech, the right to due process, and the right to live and work in peace."

Susan Clayton, 72, of New York, said: "We care about our democracy. We care about our way of life. And everything they're doing is trying to destroy that. The cuts to government programs, the things we've paid into our whole lives — they're trying to take all of that from working people and turn this into a country for oligarchs. That's not what America is supposed to be."

Despite concerns about police clashes in other cities, she emphasized the need for nonviolence. "Our power is in being peaceful — and in our numbers."

Fifteen-year-old protester Christina Heiney, of Massachusetts, said, "We want to protest as well because it's not just adults that should be protesting."

Los Angeles, a focal point of recent immigration raids, has become the center of a standoff between the Trump administration and the state government over the deployment of National Guard and US Marine troops. The city is currently under curfew amid heightened tensions.

"No King in the USA," read a sign held by Michael, who joined the demonstration in the Los Angeles area on Saturday. The sign featured a photo of Trump with a cross beside it.

While protests on the East Coast largely wrapped up by 6 pm, the military parade was moved up because of an approaching storm. Trump supporters had been eagerly awaiting the event, especially following the earlier clashes.

The Golden Knights parachute team opened the parade with an early jump from the sky, followed by soldiers in period uniforms and vintage military vehicles representing different wars marching across the parade grounds.