Protests Against The Second Presidency Of Donald Trump Explained

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Dec 31, 2025, 10:41 AM

protests against the second presidency of donald trump explained

2020 presidential election overturning attempts Multiple protests have been held across the United States and other countries against U.S. president Donald Trump since his 2024 re-election. Demonstrations have been held to protest and show disapproval for promises he made during his 2024 re-election campaign, proposals he has made to various domestic and international matters and decisions and policies he has... While many protests and actions have been led by pre-existing organisations, there has also been a large amount of organising and attendance by the wider public alongside action taken during non-political events such as... On November 6, the day after Trump's re-election, protesters gathered in San Jose and Berkeley, California,[1] downtown Cleveland,[2] Chicago,[3] New York City,[3] and Philadelphia[3] to protest border militarization and the Gaza war.[1][3] Protesters outside...

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. The “No Kings” protests were organized to protest the second presidency of U.S. Pres. Donald Trump, focusing on his allegedly fascist policies and statements about being a king. They were among the largest protests in U.S. history.

Five million demonstrators attended the first “No Kings” rallies on June 14, 2025, and almost seven million attended the second round of rallies on October 18, 2025. Americans are protesting against Pres. Donald Trump because of his administration’s crackdowns on immigration, his allegedly antidemocratic policies, and his prior statements about being a king. In the time between the first and second rounds of protest, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids intensified, leading more protesters to take to the streets. The protests were largely organized by such liberal organizations as MoveOn, the 50501 Movement, and Indivisible.

The term “No Kings” was coined by 50501 Movement. Nonpartisan groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) also helped facilitate protests. The first round of protests in June took place across about 2,100 sites nationwide, with major cities such as Chicago, New York City, and Philadelphia seeing large-scale demonstrations. The October 2025 protests saw about 2,700 locations across the U.S. Sizable protests also occurred in smaller cities and suburban locales. It's been nearly six months since the reelection of President Donald Trump, and so far during his second term, the headlines have been filled with news of protests across the country.

From "Not My President's Day" demonstrations in February and the coordinated "No Kings Day" protests in June, which coincided with the president's 79th birthday, to anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles last month, thousands of... But how do these protests compare with those during Trump's first term? With sweeping "Free America" protests due over the July 4 weekend, Newsweek spoke to experts to find out more about activism under Trump 2.0. "The simplest thing is, a much larger number of protests," Sid Tarrow, an associate member of the law faculty and Maxwell M. Upson Professor Emeritus Government Department at Cornell Law School, told Newsweek in a phone call. Dana Fisher, director of the Center for Environment, Community & Equity and a professor at America University, echoed this, telling Newsweek via email that although "Resistance 2.0 has taken longer to build momentum," there...

In this report, Matthew Cebul, Lead Research Fellow for the Nonviolent Action Lab, examines the effectiveness of nonviolent action movements in supporting democratic resilience globally. Identifying challenges faced by nonviolent pro-democracy movements, Cebul offers key takeaways for combating accelerating democratic erosion in the US and abroad. The historic number of No Kings Day protesters and their expansive geographic spread are signs of a growing and durable pro-democracy movement. This article was originally published in Waging Nonviolence. In this report, Matthew Cebul, Lead Research Fellow for the Nonviolent Action Lab, examines the effectiveness of nonviolent action movements in supporting democratic resilience globally. Identifying challenges faced by nonviolent pro-democracy movements, Cebul offers key takeaways for combating accelerating democratic erosion in the US and abroad.

In this op-ed, Liz McKenna examines the second ‘No Kings’ protest on October 18 and offers strategies for translating successful protest movements into influential policy change. She emphasizes the importance of sustained organizational efforts alongside protest activity to engage actors across partisan lines, building a broad coalition and a durable base for the movement. Archon Fung and Stephen Richer are joined by University of Pittsburgh’s Lara Putnam to discuss the recent No Kings protest movement. Protests against Donald Trump have occurred in the United States and internationally since his entry into the 2016 presidential campaign. Protests have expressed opposition to Trump's campaign rhetoric, his electoral win, his first inauguration, his alleged history of sexual misconduct and various presidential actions, most notably his travel ban in 2017 and aggressive family... Some protests have taken the form of walk-outs, business closures, and petitions as well as rallies, demonstrations, and marches.

While most protests have been peaceful,[12] actionable conduct such as vandalism and assaults on Trump supporters has occurred.[13] [14] Some protesters have been criminally charged with rioting.[15] The largest organized protest against Trump was... A number of protests against Donald Trump's candidacy and political positions occurred during his presidential campaign, essentially at his political rallies. During his presidential campaign, activists organized demonstrations inside Trump's rallies, sometimes with calls to shut the rallies down;[17] [18] [19] protesters began to attend his rallies displaying signs and disrupting proceedings.[20] [21] There were occasional incidents of verbal abuse and/or physical violence, either against protesters or against Trump supporters. While most of the incidents amounted to simple heckling against the candidate, a few people had to be stopped by Secret Service agents. Large-scale disruption forced Trump to cancel a rally in Chicago on March 11, 2016, out of safety concerns.

On June 18, 2016, an attempt was made to assassinate Trump.[22] Michael Steven Sanford, a British national and the perpetrator, was sentenced to one year in prison after he reached for a police officer's... He reportedly told a federal agent that he had driven from California to Las Vegas with a plan to kill Trump.[23] The protesters sometimes attempted to enter the venue or engage in activities outside the venue. Interactions with supporters of the candidate may occur before, during or after the event.[24] At times, protesters attempted to rush the stage at Trump's rallies.[25] At times, anti-Trump protesters have turned violent and attacked... 50501 (short for "50 protests, 50 states, 1 movement") is an American progressive grassroots political organization founded to organize the 50501 protests against policies and actions of the second Donald Trump administration in the... The group organized several nationwide demonstrations starting on February 5, 2025, with anti-Trump rallies.[8][9] The group hosted another nationwide protest—named "No Kings on Presidents Day"—on February 17 (Presidents' Day),[10] and a third demonstration on...

president Donald Trump.[13] "No Kings" protests took place across the US (but avoided Washington, D.C.)[14] on June 14, 2025,[15][16] the day of the U.S. Army 250th Anniversary Parade and Donald Trump's 79th birthday.[17] These events, in over 2,000 locations and attended by an estimated 5 million people,[18][19][20] represent the largest one-day protest in US history.[21] The movement continues... Discussions of a nationwide protest started circulating on social media in late 2024. According to organizer Kay Evert, the movement started on Reddit, with activist organizations eventually joining in.[22] The movement says it was organized by grassroots activists and spread through social media.[23] The movement used the... Protestors also expressed dismay about the role of Elon Musk and his actions in the federal system.[25] One protester stated "I'm here because Elon Musk is where he's not supposed to be.

He is in our pocketbooks", as well as concerns about accessing confidential and personal data, lack of legal jurisdiction, and the unelected status of Musk.[25]

Protests Against The Second Presidency Of Donald Trump Explained

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