All power to the people in US protests

This weekend, millions of Americans will join the No Kings 2.0 protests against President Donald Trump and his administration. Sponsored by Indivisible, a network of local groups committed to nonviolence, opposing authoritarianism, and building an inclusive democracy in the United States, over 2500 protests are planned for Saturday October 18.

These nationwide and global protests build on the June No Kings protests, which drew an estimated five million people, the largest demonstration against the second Trump administration to date. The aim is to show that, in the United States, the power and authority to govern belong to ‘We the People’, not a self-appointed monarch.

The question many are asking is, will these protests make a difference? After all, in the past nine months, the Trump regime has rapidly consolidated its power over the federal government.

Enabled by a Republican-led Congress and Supreme Court which refuse to uphold the checks and balances among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches as laid out in the US Constitution, Trump and his officials continually violate the rule of law and the Constitution.

Officials in state governments and judges in lower federal courts have been important in calling out and pushing back against these violations. But in the midst of this full-blown constitutional crisis, the people matter. They are a vital force in opposing Trump’s authoritarianism and in using their constitutional rights to do so.

The First Amendment guarantees Americans the rights needed to protest their government, from the freedom to think, to speak, to assemble, and then “to petition the Government for a redress of grievances”.

Using constitutional rights to protest has both real and symbolic power. It demonstrates a refusal to give up power to an authoritarian regime and, at the same time, upholds the Constitution. This upholding is critical at a time when the President himself refuses to fulfil his oath of office “to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States” and threatens the constitutional rights of his fellow Americans.

And protest at this time of constitutional crisis is powerful in other ways. It brings attention to the damage the Trump regime is doing to people, programmes, and policy. Whether that be sending federal troops into US cities, detaining US citizens and deporting immigrants with a legal right to be in the country, or withholding funding appropriated by Congress.

Protest also has an impact on what is covered and discussed in the media and, thus, affects the political agenda. It has emboldened the political opposition in Congress to stand up to the Trump regime. The current US government shutdown is due to the people showing the Democratic Party they want leaders who will use whatever tools they have as a minority party to preserve health care, other social programmes, and the Constitution.

Protest is part of a larger set of tactics that people are using to oppose the Trump regime. They are voicing their opinions in polls, with approval ratings falling for specific Trump policies such as immigration and tariffs, and for his overall performance in office. They are also suing the Trump administration. People illegally detained by ICE are bringing lawsuits, as are small business owners who oppose the President’s use of emergency powers to impose tariffs, a responsibility that belongs under the Constitution to Congress.

People are engaging in consumer boycotts, refusing to buy EVs from Tesla due to CEO Elon Musk’s support for Trump and his assault on federal government agencies as a special appointee. They dropped their subscriptions to Disney’s various streaming services and sold their Disney stock when late night television talk show host Jimmy Kimmel was suspended for poking fun at the President in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination. The drop in Tesla sales and the reversal of Kimmel’s suspension shows the power of organised consumers.

People are also using their right to vote. Voting in special elections this year have resulted in overperformances by Democratic candidates, whereby they have won larger percentages of the vote than Democrats did in the 2024 elections. Currently, voters are mobilising for important elections in November, including governor races in New Jersey and Virginia. Americans living abroad, including in Aotearoa, are also voting in these elections. Like using First Amendment rights, voter participation has real and symbolic power in countering the actions of the Trump regime and Republicans in state governments to undermine voting rights.

The act of participating in all these ways is vital for people challenging power, but public protest has a place of prominence because it fosters face-to-face interaction and communication. It allows for creativity in designing protest signs, images, music, and chants. And the humour on display at these protests, whether it be inflatable animals outside ICE detention centres or signs making fun of the President, sparks laughter and challenges the grim hostility and inhumanity of Trump and his officials, building a sense of agency, solidarity, and community in the process.

In opposing an authoritarian regime that denounces popular protest and wants people divided, disengaged, and disempowered, this weekend’s No Kings protests matter and, yes, they will make a difference.