No Kings March in New York City, 2025
Times Square, 11:00 a.m.—Father Duffy Square fills as the No Kings march gets ready to step off.
No Kings March — New York City
Photographs and text by Just Gonz
As I prepared to attend the No Kings march in Manhattan, I asked myself—What do I really know about this movement? I understand and respect the sentiment, because it’s a direct rejection of Donald Trump’s habit of crowning himself—literally. Earlier this year, he posted “LONG LIVE THE KING”, and the White House amplified a fake TIME cover showing him in a crown. New York’s governor pushed back: We are a nation of laws, not ruled by a king. People.com+1
Isn’t this exactly why people fled England?
I’m someone who wants to be informed, and I know I don’t know what I don’t know. I pinged a close activist friend to see if she was going. Her short answer was no (kids’ schedules always win), and then, “For some reason I hate the No Kings brand, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.” That stuck with me. What did I actually know beyond vibes and headlines? Honestly, nothing. Time to dig.
Here’s what I learned. A lot of outlets call anything with signs a “protest,” but New York’s organizers described this as a march—no speaking program—and encouraged people to RSVP so groups could link up and stay coordinated. The official info listed Father Duffy Square as the start (11 a.m.), a 1.6‑mile walk down Seventh Avenue, dispersing at 14th Street. That’s logistics, not gatekeeping. No Kings NYC+1
With all that said, I’m for anything—positive and passionate—that shakes people out of complacency to stand up for each other, and for our rights as humans and Americans.
The run‑up
As October 18 approached, right‑wing media figures and Trump allies worked overtime to paint No Kings as anti‑American. House Speaker Mike Johnson went on national TV and called them “hate America” rallies. That framing was the point: make civic dissent sound un‑American. ABC News
Meanwhile, Trump said before the marches that he’s not a king—then later shared an AI‑generated clip of himself in a crown, piloting a jet labeled “King Trump,” and dropping a brown substance over crowds while “Danger Zone” blares. That actually happened; major outlets covered it. AP News+1
Getting there
I’ve lived in New York for twenty years, which means Times Square is not my weekend hobby—unless family’s in town. But this felt like a moment I needed to show up for.
Walking up 45th toward 7th Avenue, the first thing that hit me was a new mural: Jenna Morello’s Saint Liberty across the facade of RiseNY on 45th Street. Lady Liberty in bright color, looking down on a city that still drags itself into the streets when power overreaches. The placement couldn’t be better. BroadwayWorld+1
Jenna Morello’s “Saint Liberty” watches over West 45th Street as the crowd pours toward Seventh Avenue.
At Father Duffy Square—the starting point at 11 a.m.—the scene was already full: grandparents and kids; folks in union tees; clergy; first‑timers; the regulars who always show up. Newsrooms later said thousands marched along the Times Square → Union Square route; the NYPD put citywide turnout above 100,000 and reported zero arrests across the five boroughs. The Manhattan column moved from Times Square down Seventh Avenue to Union Square, and live updates noted no major incidents. That mattered, given the week’s doom‑scroll. NBC New York+3CBS News+3FOX 5 New York+3
What it felt like
Seventh Avenue, heading south—handmade signs and a river of people bound for Union Square.
Signs everywhere. Plenty of handmade ones that will never make a chyron but tell you everything—jokes, grief, fury, love of country. Young to old, Black and brown to white and Asian—every slice of the city in one place. That visual alone pushed back on Trump’s take that the demonstrations were “a joke” and that the people in those crowds were “not representative of this country.” Spend five minutes in that Avenue and tell me it’s not America. CBS News
There was passion, frustration, joy—even some anger (let’s be real). But there wasn’t hate. The loudest through‑line was love of country, not contempt for it. And New York did what New York does: we moved together, we looked out for each other, we took the Avenue and kept it civil.l.
Handmade words and real faces along the route.
The spin vs. the street
Despite the “hate America” spin, the reality on the ground here (and across the country) was a peaceful, mass turnout. The New York anchor event began in Times Square; additional gatherings happened in every borough; and organizers estimated millions took part at 2,600–2,700+ events nationwide—this being the second big mobilization after June. Believe the day‑of visuals you saw; movements scale when people feel seen. ABC+2The Guardian+2
Trump’s social‑media response—the AI “King Trump” jet video dropping sludge on protesters—only underlined the point of the day. That’s not leadership; it’s theater at the expense of citizens exercising the most American right there is. AP News
“FIGHT FASCISIM” - Marchers in full expression of their rights and beliefs.
Why I went
Because I believe in showing up, because a march is more than a headline; it’s a body next to another body, saying we live here and we care. Because the through‑line from 1776 to 2025 is simple: No kings. And because, from Times Square to Union Square, New Yorkers said exactly that—clearly, peacefully, together. NBC New York
From the young to the old, the Black/brown to the white, the millions who raised their voices that day will keep echoing the words at the top of our founding document:
“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
America was built by immigrants.