NO KINGS NO TYRANTS: Thousands took to the streets across the US on Saturday to protest over recent actions by President Donald Trump. Known as “50501”, for “50 protests, 50 states, 1 movement”, the demonstrations were intended to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the start of the American Revolutionary War.

From outside the White House and Tesla dealerships and at the centres of many cities, protesters expressed a variety of grievances. Many called for the return of Kilmar Ábrego García, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador. The most recent polling from Gallup suggests 45% of voters approve of Trump’s performance in the first quarter of his term, which is more than the 41% who approved during the same period in his first administration.

Still, it is lower than the average first-quarter rating of 60% for all presidents elected between 1952 and 2020.

Saturday’s protests addressed a number of Trump actions, including those by the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) – Trump’s initiative to cut US government jobs and other spending – and the administration’s unwillingness to bring about the return of Ábrego García, a citizen of El Salvador. Gihad Elgendy told CNN he joined the protest at the White House to criticise the deportation of Ábrego García. He believes Trump “could easily pressure El Salvador to bring him back”.

The protests were generally reported as peaceful, although Representative Suhas Subramanyam, a Democrat, posted a video on X of a man holding a Trump sign and pushing through a crowd to angrily confront him.
Many demonstrators carried signs reading “No Kings,” a nod to the anniversary of the start of the country’s revolution against British rule. 

During celebrations of the anniversary in Massachusetts that commemorated the battles of Lexington and Concord and the famous horse ride of Paul Revere, people held similar signs. There was also a 50501 demonstration in Boston on Saturday.

“This is a very perilous time in America for liberty,” Thomas Bassford, told the Associated Press, while in Boston with his partner, daughter and two grandsons. “I wanted the boys to learn about the origins of this country and that sometimes we have to fight for freedom.”

Political protests are becoming more common in the US – the “Hands Off” demonstrations in early April drew tens of thousands in cities across the country.

Trump’s popularity appears to be edging down, especially when it comes to the economy. When he took office in January, his approval rating was 47%, according to Gallup. His approval rating in a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll similarly dipped to 43% from 47% on Inauguration Day. In the same poll, only 37% approved of his performance on the economy, compared to 42% during inauguration.

Earlier this month, hundreds of thousands of Americans gathered for the largest nationwide show of opposition since Trump returned to the White House. Those protests – which were larger than Saturday’s – happened in 1,200 locations in all 50 US states. – CNN –

SONS OF LIBERTY: Paul Revere (/rɪˈvɪər/; December 21, 1734 O.S. (January 1, 1735 N.S.)[N 1] – May 10, 1818) was an American silversmith, military officer and industrialist who played a major role during the opening months of the American Revolutionary War in Massachusetts, engaging in a midnight ride in 1775 to alert nearby minutemen of the approach of British troops prior to the battles of Lexington and Concord.

Paul Revere’s midnight ride was an alert given to minutemen in the Province of Massachusetts Bay by local Patriots on the night of April 18, 1775, warning them of the approach of British Army troops prior to the battles of Lexington and Concord. In the preceding weeks, Patriots in the region learned of a planned crackdown on the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, then based in Concord, by the British occupational authorities in the colony.

Riding through present-day Somerville, Medford, and Arlington, Revere warned patriots along his route, many of whom set out on horseback to deliver warnings of their own. By the end of the night there were probably as many as 40 riders throughout Middlesex County carrying the news of the army’s advance. Revere did not shout the phrase later attributed to him, “The British are coming!”: his mission depended on secrecy, the countryside was filled with British patrols, and most of the colonists in Massachusetts, who were predominantly of English descent, most still considered themselves British.

Revere’s warning, according to eyewitness accounts of the ride and Revere’s own descriptions, was “The Regulars are coming out.” – Wiki –

Apr 20, 2025 12:09:50 am