Organisers stated that more than eight million people took part in the “No Kings” demonstrations across the United States and in more than a dozen countries, protesting US President Donald Trump’s policies on immigration, the rising cost of living, and the war with Iran.
On Saturday, a major rally in Minnesota drew particularly large crowds. Attendees at the Minnesota rally included US Senator Bernie Sanders, highlighting the scale of public dissent.
Speaking to VOC News, veteran US diplomat and political analyst J. Brooks Spector said the turnout reflected a broad national movement. “This crowd of somewhere between seven and eight million people wasn’t all in one place. It was scattered across thousands of locations, so it was national in a real way,” he said.
Spector noted that many protesters were ordinary citizens. “This was your solid citizens who are fed up,” he explained, adding that families and middle-class participants were highly visible.
He said the demonstrations were largely peaceful. “It was not mobs rampaging. It was people assembling to invoke their constitutional right to freely gather,” he said.
Spector believes the protests could influence political engagement ahead of upcoming elections, giving people “courage to face how they’re going to have to deal with the issues.”
Regarding the war with Iran, he warned that public support may be fragile. “If there are body bags, that’s going to sour any opinion really quickly,” he said, adding that rising costs of fuel and food could further deepen dissatisfaction.
Listen to the full interviews below:
VOC News
Photo: Pixabay
