Second No Kings day of action; Trump posts AI-generated video
Event Reviewed Automatically reviewed for factual accuracy, tone, and neutrality. Review does not check claims against cited sources. Last reviewed 18 October 2026.A second nationwide No Kings day, with more than 2,600 rallies planned across the U.S., took place during the federal government shutdown. That evening Trump posted an AI-generated video to Truth Social depicting himself as a crowned pilot dropping waste on protesters.
Second nationwide protest day; the president posts an AI-generated video on Truth Social.
The second No Kings day came four months after the first, with more than 2,600 rallies planned by hundreds of coalition groups and the federal government shutdown in its 18th day. Ahead of the day, organizers listed objections including immigration arrests, National Guard deployments to Democratic-run cities, health care costs, and what they described as efforts to tilt elections. Texas Governor Greg Abbott sent National Guard units to Austin, and Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin placed the state’s Guard on state active duty in case it was needed.
Organizers reported nearly 7 million participants at more than 2,700 demonstrations. A crowdsourced estimate by data journalist G. Elliott Morris put turnout at a median of 5.0 million, with an upper bound of 6.5 million. New York police estimated 100,000 people across the city’s five boroughs, and police in New York and Washington reported no protest-related arrests. The Crowd Counting Consortium at Harvard’s Ash Center lists both 2025 No Kings days among the largest single-day demonstrations in U.S. history.
Before the day, House Speaker Mike Johnson called it a “Hate America rally,” and other Republicans described demonstrators as communists and Marxists. Asked about the protests, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson replied, “Who cares?” Trump said in a Fox News interview: “I’m not a king.”
That evening Trump posted a 19-second AI-generated video to Truth Social showing himself wearing a crown and flying a fighter jet labeled “King Trump,” dropping what appeared to be feces on protesters in what looked like Times Square. NBC News counted it among dozens of AI-generated videos Trump had posted over the preceding nine months, many originating from other accounts before he shared them. Kenny Loggins, whose song “Danger Zone” played in the clip, asked that his recording be removed.
Sources
- 01.
Associated Press, via PBS NewsHour. WATCH: 'No Kings' rally in DC on nationwide day of protests against Trump administration. (2025). Same-day AP report. Source for more than 2,600 planned rallies organized by hundreds of coalition groups; the shutdown in its 18th day; Speaker Mike Johnson's 'Hate America rally' remark; Republicans describing demonstrators as 'communists' and 'Marxists'; and Trump's Fox News remark 'I'm not a king.' Also quotes Indivisible co-founder Ezra Levin.
- 02.
NPR. Protesters decry Trump administration policies in No Kings rallies across the U.S.. (2025). Same-day report. Source for the NYPD estimate of 100,000 people across the five boroughs, no protest-related arrests in New York or Washington, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sending National Guard units to Austin, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin authorizing the Guard for state active duty, and White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson's reply 'Who cares?'
- 03.
NPR. No Kings organizers project a massive turnout for this weekend's protests. (2025). Published 17 October 2025. Source for the stated objections — ICE arrests, National Guard deployments to Democratic-run cities, health care, and efforts to tilt elections.
- 04.
NBC News. Trump posts AI video showing him dumping on No Kings protesters. (2025). Published 19 October 2025. Source for the 19-second AI-generated video posted to Truth Social, the crown and the 'King Trump' jet, the apparent Times Square setting, NBC's count of dozens of AI-generated videos posted by Trump over nine months (many originating from other accounts), Kenny Loggins' request that his recording be removed, and the organizers' claim of nearly 7 million people at more than 2,700 demonstrations.
- 05.
Strength In Numbers. Second "No Kings Day" protests the largest single-day political protest ever*, with 5.0-6.5 million participants. (2025). Crowdsourced crowd-size estimate by a data journalist, final update 20 October 2025: median 5.0 million, upper bound 6.5 million. An independent but non-academic estimate; the headline's 'largest ever' claim is the author's and is not repeated here.
- 06.
Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, Harvard Kennedy School. Crowd Counting Consortium. Program page stating that the No Kings protests of June and October 2025 were among the largest single-day demonstrations in US history. It gives no participant estimate for October.
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