Second “No Kings” protest attracts tens of thousands to Boston Common on Oct. 18
MIT student groups and alumni attended the event
Vivian Hir–The Tech
Vivian Hir–The Tech
From 12 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 18, tens of thousands of people gathered at Boston Common to protest President Trump’s administration. This event was part of a second installation of the nationwide “No Kings” series of protests, the first of which was held this June. It is organized by a coalition of groups including 50501, Indivisible, and large labor unions. Saturday’s event attracted over seven million people in around 2,700 protests across the country, including hundreds of events in the New England area.
In the four months since the previous “No Kings” protests, the President’s nationwide approval ratings have only slightly declined. Yet, to many who attended the rally, much has changed in terms of policy and precedent.
Recently, President Trump sent National Guard troops to several heavily left-leaning cities, including Portland and Los Angeles, in an effort to preserve “law and order.” He has also sought to limit lawful immigration, used mass deportation in response to unauthorized immigration, and dramatically reduced the size of the federal government.
Moreover, the current Department of Justice has filed charges against some of the President’s political enemies — moves that some see as retribution for attempts at prosecuting Trump during his 2024 presidential campaign. There has also been significant controversy over President Trump’s associations with the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
In light of these recent events, courts have been facing tough questions about the balance of executive power. This term, the Supreme Court will tackle a docket full of soon-to-be landmark cases that will define the bounds of the President’s authority. Furthermore, the October protests occurred during a government shutdown that has become a political headache for both parties and instilled uncertainty for tens of thousands of federal workers, including in Massachusetts.
The Boston event drew several high-profile Bay State politicians, including Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, who kicked off the event with a speech, as well as the state’s Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, U.S. Senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, and U.S. representatives Katherine Clark, Ayanna Pressley, and Seth Moulton. In addition, representatives of organizations including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Boston’s New Roots AME Church spoke at the event.
Besides speeches, the event also included performances from various musicians and bands. Emcee Rahsaan Hall, President and CEO of the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts, argued that music and protest are interconnected, citing singer Aretha Franklin’s protest anthems during the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. Songs performed at “No Kings” stayed on theme by celebrating freedom and decrying war, and the performers encouraged the audience to sing along and dance.
Mayor Wu called the rally a “national day of action,” and proudly proclaimed that “every day is a ‘No Kings’ day” for the past 250 years of U.S. history. Wu highlighted Boston’s significance in the country, stating that Boston Common was the first public park in the U.S., and noted that the city is home to many immigrants and workers. She criticized the Trump administration for its recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deployment surge in Boston, stating that “Boston doesn’t back down” and that “our city is not for sale.”
In her speech, Attorney General Campbell said that she has filed nearly 40 lawsuits against the Trump administration, and has fought for the protection of the state’s funding in public school education, healthcare, and investments. Campbell applauded the audience for attending the rally, stating that collective effort is essential to “win[ning] this fight.” Citing her difficult upbringing, Campbell said that she understands what “struggle” feels like, but also knows what “faith” looks like, referring to the rallygoers.
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts began her speech by underscoring the state’s important role in the country’s founding history, from the Boston Tea Party in 1773 to the Patriot army’s victorious Siege of Boston in 1776. Warren condemned Trump as a king who “wants to put on a shiny little crown and prance around.” Warren also disagreed with Republican politicians who called the protests “anti-American,” arguing instead that the demonstrators’ commitment to protecting democracy and standing up to the Trump administration was a testament to the patriotism of “No Kings.”
On the other side of the political aisle, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, Republican from Louisiana, congratulated protestors for conducting a “violence-free, free-speech exercise” but decried the events as “hate America rallies” that serve as a “cover” for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. “The irony of the message is pretty clear for everyone. If President Trump was a king, the government would be open right now,” Johnson added in an interview.
At the event, protesters held picket signs and posters with messages criticizing President Trump and his administration’s actions, such as mass deportations and threats to freedom of speech. A few wore satirical costumes mocking Trump, including one attendee donned with a full face of orange makeup, a golden golf club, and a royal cape, drawing significant attention from protesters.
Some attendees dressed up in inflatable animal costumes, including unicorns and frogs, to challenge assumptions from Republican politicians that the rally was hateful and anti-American. Protesters chanted, “The people, united, will never be defeated!”
The Tech spoke to multiple MIT affiliates attending the event. Steve Atkins ’91 SM ’93 PhD ’98, now a resident of Westford, shared that he was “glad that MIT rejected the administration’s attempt at bribing universities.” Referencing the Life is Good shirt he was wearing, he added, “‘Peace, Love, Science’ seems to summarize it pretty well.”
Alumna Marnie Crawford MBA ’78, daughter of renowned former MIT Economics Professor Paul Samuelson, stated that her father would have been proud of MIT for not signing the college compact. Referencing the Vietnam War protests, she said that her generation has “been protesting since we were in our 20s.”
MIT Graduate Student Union (GSU) President Lauren Chua G came with a group of GSU members to the event because they “wanted to stand up against attacks on working groups,” citing that many people “across the board” have been impacted by the Trump administration’s actions.
First-year graduate student Ben Weiss said that he felt “hope seeing this many people” at the protest. Echoing many, he called the present a “moment in history where there’s a clear movement against democracy.” Weiss was excited to protest “in the context of a collective like MIT students.”
Of course, the vast majority of protesters were not affiliated with MIT. David Greenleaf, an Arlington resident, carried a poster that said “Nixon wasn’t so bad.” He told The Tech that Trump’s behavior had a “habituation effect” on the American public, who went from a “decisive response” in the Watergate era to being “rattled” by Trump’s “quantum leap.” Greenleaf said, “To have a voice of opposition is so important right now.”
Jennifer Reif is from Seattle and happened to be in Boston on the 18th. Nevertheless, she attended “No Kings” because she “wanted to show up.” Reif stated that she fears for “our country,” as well as “my children and everyone’s children.” Emphasizing America’s status as a global superpower, she added, “It’s not just our country,” but also the country’s image.
As America’s political left protests the Trump administration, it also contemplates its own way forward. Following a dramatic loss in the 2024 presidential election, when former Vice President Kamala Harris emphasized democratic norms but was accused of lacking concrete policy positions, Democrats are striving to define themselves beyond their opposition to Trump.
Some, like Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old self-identified Democratic Socialist who shocked the nation by winning New York City’s mayoral primary in June, have chosen to focus on everyday issues like affordability, housing, and transit while maintaining an unabashedly left-leaning public image. Others, such as Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin or Maine Rep. Jared Golden, have urged a move towards the center.
Despite the “No Kings” rally’s message of unity, two of the speakers at Boston’s event exemplified two of the major rifts — age and ideology — that have emerged in 2025’s Democratic party. Senator Ed Markey, the 79-year-old junior senator from Massachusetts, is a committed progressive who co-sponsored the Green New Deal. On the stage, Markey draped himself in a trans pride flag and said, “We do not coronate; we liberate. We do not agonize; we organize,” which elicited cheers from the audience.
On the other hand, Rep. Seth Moulton is far more centrist. The representative, age 46, announced earlier this week that he will challenge Markey in the upcoming primary for the Democratic candidacy for Senate. In November 2024, Moulton suggested that Democrats should spend their time “being brutally honest about the challenges many Americans face,” instead of “trying not to offend anyone.” Moulton continued by criticizing “male or formerly male” athletes on “a playing field” with “little girls,” a seeming dig at transgender athletes.
When Moulton spoke at the “No Kings” protest, he was met by boos from some attendees. According to MassLive, one attendee cried, “You sold out trans kids!”
Despite these interruptions, the protesters remained largely unified. During her remarks, Rep. Ayanna Pressley celebrated allyship, encouraging the crowd to “draw strength from each other.” Pressley ended with a rallying cry: “Peace over war; hope over fear, love over hate; freedom over fascism. No Kings!”