Democrats rally at No Kings to protest Trump — but many say they’re also unhappy with their own party

WASHINGTON — Thousands of people gathered in the nation’s capital Saturday, rallying together and repeating a refrain: “No kings.”

They joined thousands other rallies across the country organized by Democratic groups and activists to protest President Donald Trump and his administration with a second round of “No Kings” rallies following an initial day of national protest in June.

While many protesters told NBC News of their dissatisfaction with Trump, a plethora of left-wing and liberal protesters also made one thing clear: They’re not happy with their Democratic leaders either.

“I don’t have a lot of confidence in Democrats right now,” Alex, a construction worker who traveled to Washington from northern Virginia on Saturday and declined to give his last name, told NBC News. “They don’t…they don’t seem to have much courage or a single message. They’re just too disorganized to put up a good fight against these bulls…”

“It pains me to say this, but Trump’s henchmen are fucking organized compared to the Democrats right now,” he added.

Clark Furey, 40, who lives in Washington, called on elected Democrats to “give a few more nudges”.

“We just take it on the chin and we don’t talk,” he told NBC News while attending the rally with his dog, Scooby. “You know, I think we need to nudge a few more times. Unfortunately, the high road doesn’t work.”

Jenny Wang, 35, who lives in Washington and attended the rally, used two words to describe how she currently feels about the Democratic Party: “disappointed” and “disappointed.”

Many of these rank-and-file Democrats are not alone.

Since Democrats lost the White House and Senate in 2024 and failed to flip the House, the party’s approval ratings have fallen to their lowest levels in decades.

Scott, 45, who lives in Washington and attended Saturday’s rally but did not want to release his last name, said he felt the Democrats were almost as bad as the Republicans.

“The Democratic Party overall is also bought by corporate interests, and they’re failing to stand up for average workers,” he told NBC News.

He highlighted Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and their continued hesitation to support New York City’s Democratic candidate for mayor, Zohran Mamdani. Scott also highlighted Schumer’s decision to support Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills, 77, for the Senate over military veteran and oyster farmer Graham Platner in the primary.

“You can see it in their lack of interest in the leaders who support Mamdani in New York. You can see it with their attempt to get an almost octogenarian position. [in the] race in Maine to undermine progressives,” he said.

Amanda Nataro, 41, who lives in Washington and lost her government job earlier this year when the Trump administration made deep cuts to USAID, said she believes Democrats are too afraid of losing elections to stand up to Republicans.

Democrats have rebuffed attempts by the Trump administration to reduce funding for USAID, which Congress approved last year, before the Supreme Court in September allowed the Trump administration to make $4 billion worth of cuts.

“I think they should all be at home in their states at these No Kings protests, to let people know that they support democracy. I think a lot of them are worried about keeping their seats in purple states and losing their seats, and they’re missing an opportunity here to show what democracy looks like, to speak out,” Nataro told NBC News at the rally. “I think they showed a little courage with the shutdown. But we could have done it in March. We let this go on too long before we took a stand.”

Many elected Democrats participated in the demonstrations against the kings on Saturday. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., addressed protesters in Boston. Schumer joined protesters in New York. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker addressed protesters in Chicago. Senator Andy Kim and Representative Mikie Sherrill, Democratic candidate for governor of New Jersey, spoke to people attending a No Kings rally alongside Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin in Montclair, New Jersey.

Despite their anger at Democrats, many protesters in Washington joined Nataro in acknowledging that their own party’s elected leaders had recently taken steps to fight back.

Many praised Democrats in Congress for opposing a Republican-backed stopgap funding measure that would have kept the government open.

The federal government has now been shut down for more than two weeks, with Democrats saying they will vote with Republicans to fund it if Republican Party leaders agree to expand health care subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, which is set to expire at the end of this year.

“I’m happy they’re finally holding on,” Lydia, 44, who traveled to the rally from Springfield, Virginia, with her daughters, told NBC News.

“I know the shutdown sucks, especially since my brother’s not working right now. But I mean, it’s very effective,” added Lydia, who did not share her last name with NBC News. “It’s a very important thing. I know I can’t afford higher health care. [costs] and I don’t earn a small amount of money.

Laurel Beedon, 79, who lives in northern Virginia and attended the rally with a friend, acknowledged that Democrats in Congress can’t take much action when they’re in the minority, but applauded their efforts to reduce health care costs.

“They are doing what they can against a thoughtless, enabling Republican majority,” she said. “I commend them on health care.”

Many rally attendees also saw another glimmer of hope for Democrats in a new generation of leaders and activists.

In response to questions from NBC News about whose work they are Satisfied with their party, protesters repeatedly rejected the names of California Governor Gavin Newsom, Senator Chris Murphy, New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Texas Representative Jasmine Crockett, Florida Representative Maxwell Frost, Mamdani and Michigan Senate candidate Mallory McMorrow.

“Let’s get rid of a lot of the old guard and bring in some fresh blood,” Wang said. “We have too many octogenarians and septuagenarians in Congress.”