Massive protests against President Donald Trump have kicked off across the United States and beyond, as millions of people vent fury over what they see as his authoritarian bent and law-trampling governance.

It is the third time in less than a year that Americans have taken to the streets as part of a grassroots movement called “No Kings”, the most vocal and visual conduit for opposition to Trump since he began his second term in January 2025.

Now they have something new to fume over – the war against Iran that Trump launched alongside Israel, with ever-shifting goals and timelines for completion.

US protests began in several cities including Washington, Boston and Atlanta, where thousands of people gathered in a park to decry authoritarianism.

“No country can govern without the consent of the people,” 36-year-old military veteran Marc McCaughey told AFP in Atlanta.

“We’re out here because we feel that the Constitution is under threat in a multitude of different ways. Things aren’t normal. They aren’t okay.”

Protesters take part in a rally and march in Washington, DC. This is the third nationwide "No Kings" protest held against the Trump administration. Photo / Getty Images

In the Michigan town of West Bloomfield, near Detroit, people braved below-freezing temperatures to protest.

And in the capital, Washington, marchers – some carrying banners that blared “Trump Must Go Now!” and “Fight Fascism” – walked across a bridge over the Potomac River to the Lincoln Memorial, site of historic civil rights demonstrations of years past.

The anti-Trump mood has spilled beyond US borders, with rallies Saturday in European cities including Amsterdam, Madrid and Rome, where 20,000 people marched under a heavy police presence.

“We don’t want a world governed by kings... who make decisions from on high,” said 29-year-old researcher Andrea Nossa.

Record numbers expected

The first “No Kings” nationwide protest day came last June on Trump’s 79th birthday and coincided with a military parade he organised in Washington. Several million people turned out, from New York to San Francisco.

The second such protest, in October, drew an estimated seven million protesters, according to organisers.

Demonstrators march during the "No Kings" national day of protest in Washington, DC. Photo / Aaron Schwartz, AFP

The goal now is to bring out even more people on Saturday (local time), as Trump’s approval rating sinks below 40% and midterm elections loom in November, when Trump’s Republicans could lose control of both chambers of Congress.

Just as Trump is worshipped by many in his “Make America Great Again” movement, he is disliked with equal passion on the other side of America’s wide political chasm.

Foes bemoan his penchant for ruling by executive decree, his use of the Justice Department to prosecute opponents, his apparent obsession with fossil fuels and climate change denial.

They also dislike his gutting of racial and gender diversity programmes, and his taste for flexing US military power after campaigning as a man of peace.

“Since the last time we marched, this administration has dragged us deeper into war,” said Naveed Shah of Common Defense, a veterans association connected to the “No Kings” movement.

“At home, we’ve watched citizens killed in the streets by militarised forces. We’ve seen families torn apart and immigrant communities targeted. All of it done in the name of one man trying to rule like a king.”

Demonstrators take part in the No Kings Houston Protest, TX in Houston, Texas. Photo / Getty Images

Springsteen in Minnesota

Organisers say more than 3000 rallies are planned, in major cities, suburbs and rural areas – even in the Alaskan town of Kotzebue, above the Arctic circle.

Minnesota is a key focal point, months after becoming ground zero for the national debate over Trump’s violent immigration crackdown.

Legendary rocker Bruce Springsteen, a fierce critic of the President, is scheduled to perform his song “Streets of Minneapolis” in the twin city of St Paul, the capital of the northern state.

Springsteen wrote and recorded the protest ballad in just 24 hours in memory of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, two US citizens shot dead by federal agents during January protests against Trump’s immigration offensive.

What began in 2025 as a simple day of defiance has mushroomed into a “No Kings” movement of national resistance to Trump.

Organisers say two-thirds of those who plan to rally Saturday do not live in big cities, which in America are often Democratic strongholds – a data point that is up sharply since the last protest.

- Agence France-Presse