No Kings protests across US kick off with National Guard on standby

A planned protest against President Donald Trump has begun in New York City, the first of more than 2,500 rallies organised coast-to-coast across the US on Saturday.

Thousands have already packed Times Square for the event organised by No Kings, a coalition of left-leaning groups.

Demonstrations under their banner in June attracted over five million people nationwide, and were largely peaceful.

Trump allies have accused the protesters of being allied with the far-left Antifa movement, and condemned what they called “the hate America rally”.

Republican governors in several US states have placed National Guard troops on standby, but it is unclear how visible the military presence will be.

Protests are expected to continue across the country throughout the day. In Washington DC, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is expected to be a keynote speaker, with events kicking off around noon local time.

The protest organisers say the gathering will challenge Trump’s “authoritarianism”.

“The president thinks his rule is absolute,” they say on their website.

“But in America, we don’t have kings and we won’t back down against chaos, corruption, and cruelty.”

Throughout Europe, protesters have taken to the streets in Berlin, Madrid and Rome to show solidarity with their American counterparts.

In an interview with Fox News, set to air on Sunday but teased on Saturday, Trump appeared to address the upcoming rallies.

“A king! This is not an act,” Trump said in a preview clip of the interview. “You know – they’re referring to me as a king. I’m not a king.”

“We’ll have to get the National Guard out,” Kansas Senator Roger Marshall said ahead of the rallies, according to CNN.

“Hopefully it’ll be peaceful. I doubt it.”

Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Thursday activated the state’s National Guard ahead of a protest scheduled in Austin, the state’s capital.

He said the troops would be needed due to the “planned antifa-linked demonstration”.

Democrats denounced the move, including the state’s top Democrat Gene Wu, who argued: “Sending armed soldiers to suppress peaceful protests is what kings and dictators do – and Greg Abbott just proved he’s one of them.”

Virginia’s Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin also ordered the state National Guard to be activated.

Earlier this week actor Robert De Niro, a regular Trump critic, shared a short video urging Americans to join in “non-violently raising our voices”.

“We’ve had two and a half centuries of democracy… often challenging, sometimes messy, always essential,” he said.

“Now we have a would-be king who wants to take it away: King Donald the First.”

Among the celebrities expected to attend No Kings rallies are Jane Fonda, Kerry Washington, John Legend, Alan Cumming and John Leguizamo.