What to expect at Saturday’s marches: NPR

Millions of demonstrators are expected to take to the streets across the United States on Saturday, according to organizers, to protest President Trump’s policies. The marches are part of the No Kings movement, which accuses the president of behaving more like a monarch than an elected official.

This will be the second massive wave of protests organized by No Kings – a network of progressive organizations fighting against Trump’s agenda.

“In June, we did what many said was impossible: peacefully mobilized millions of people to take to the streets and declare with one voice: America has no kings,” the group states on its website.

The mostly peaceful June protests followed a military parade to mark the military’s 250th anniversary, which coincided with Trump’s 79th birthday.

Critics said Trump pushed for the extravagant parade not to commemorate the armed forces but as a display of his own vanity.

“Now President Trump has doubled down on his efforts,” No Kings says on its website, citing immigration detentions by often masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, the administration’s aggressive reduction of federal education and environmental resources, gerrymandering and other concerns.

No Kings organizers estimated that more than 5 million people participated in the June protests. They think Saturday’s event could be even bigger.

House Speaker Mike Johnson called the event a “hate rally for America,” and other Republicans called the event anti-American.

Responding to NPR’s questions about the protests, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said, “Who cares?

Republican governors. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia and Greg Abbott of Texas, in anticipation of the protesters’ day, mobilized their states’ national guards.

“The Governor has authorized state active duty for training to ensure the Guard will be ready to respond if necessary to keep people safe,” Youngkin spokesperson Peter Finocchio wrote in a statement to VPM.

The Texas Newsroom reported that Abbott said in a statement: “Violence and destruction will never be tolerated in Texas. Texas will deter criminal mischief and work with local law enforcement to arrest anyone engaging in violence or damaging property.

Speaking to Connecticut Public, the state’s lead organizer, Jim Chapdelaine, reiterated the group’s commitment to peace and the importance of standing up for what you believe in.

“There are powers that be that would rather we all stay home and, I don’t know, get hooked,” Chapdelaine said in an interview Tuesday. “It’s really important to build community and solidarity and unity, (and) especially important to do it in a very peaceful way.”