Thousands of protesters opposing broad swaths of President Trump’s agenda took to the streets across the United States on Monday, calling Mr. Trump a “king” on Presidents’ Day for his efforts to terminate thousands of federal workers and to fire prosecutors and independent watchdogs within the federal government.
On Saturday, Mr. Trump suggested on social media that he would not heed concerns that his sweeping actions could be breaking laws, posting a riff on a phrase often attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte: “He who saves his country does not violate any law.”
“No king, no crown, we will not back down,” chanted those who gathered a few hundred feet from the U.S. Capitol on the National Mall in Washington.
Many protesters opposed to Mr. Trump’s agenda embraced symbols of patriotism, waving flags and wearing heart-shaped earrings and beanies adorned with the U.S. flag. The members of an a cappella group sang the national anthem by the Capitol Reflecting Pool. The audience burst into applause after the final line: “And the home of the brave.”
“It’s our anthem. It’s our flag. It belongs to us,” said Shawn Morris, the president of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, D.C. “We wanted to take it back.” Mr. Morris said he was deeply troubled by Mr. Trump’s moves to push transgender people out of the military and to erase any mention of them from federal government websites. He expressed concerns that protections for same-sex marriages could be threatened next.
“There’s nothing more patriotic than fighting against tyranny,” said Kat Duesterhaus, who traveled from Miami to join the Washington protest. “We’re out here because we are patriots.”
