'I am not a king': Trump's quirky response to 'No Kings' protests goes viral as massive demonstrations hit US
www.msn.com

... President Donald Trump has insisted he's not a king ahead of nationwide No Kings protests planned for Saturday. "No King" protests are set to take place across the country on Saturday in a mass demonstration against his administration.

The president told Fox Business, "They're referring to me as a king. I'm not a king," in an interview clip released Friday. ...

Huge crowds gather in cities across United States for 'No Kings' protests against Trump
www.euronews.com

... More than 2,600 rallies were organised on Saturday across the country, attracting thousands of protesters in cities like Washington and New York.

Americans across the United States packed the streets on Saturday to protest the direction of their country under President Donald Trump during nationwide "No Kings" demonstrations.

Demonstrators took to places like New York City's Times Square, the historic Boston Commons, Chicago's Grant Park, Washington, DC and hundreds of smaller public spaces. More than 2,600 rallies were organised throughout the country.

Before noon local time, several thousand people had already gathered in New York City's Times Square, as well as in Washington. They chanted "Trump must go now," and waved sometimes-profane signs with slogans insulting the president and condemning his immigration crackdown.

They rallied with signs like "Nothing is more patriotic than protesting" or "Resist Fascism," and in many places it looked more like a street party. There were marching bands, a huge banner with the US Constitution's "We The People," preamble that people could sign, and protesters in frog costumes, which have emerged as a sign of resistance in Portland, Oregon. ...

The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription
www.archives.gov

...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. ...

President Trump Job Approval
www.realclearpolling.com

...
RCP Average 9/29 - 10/16
Approve: 45.4
Disapprove: 51.6
Spread: -6.2

President Trump Approval - Economy
www.realclearpolling.com
RCP Average 8/18 - 10/14
Approve: 40.7
Disapprove: 55.1
Spread: -14.4

President Trump Job Approval - Immigration
www.realclearpolling.com
RCP Average 8/18 - 10/13
Approve: 46.5
Disapprove: 50.5
Spread: -4.0

President Trump Job Approval - Inflation
www.realclearpolling.com
RCP Average 8/18 - 10/13
Approve: 36.7
Disapprove: 61.0
Spread: -24.3

President Trump Approval - Crime
www.realclearpolling.com
RCP Average 8/18 - 10/13
Approve: 47.5
Disapprove: 48.5
Spread: -0.6

Republicans mostly silent as millions of Americans protest Trump on No Kings day
www.theguardian.com

... Republican voices were mostly silent as No Kings rallies and marches against Trump administration policies unfurled on Saturday, many in the spirit of a street party that countered the "hate America" depiction advanced by senior members of the party.

Instead of provocation, there were marching bands, huge banners with "we the people" references to the US constitution, and protesters wearing inflatable costumes, particularly frogs, which have emerged as a sign of resistance.

It was the third mass mobilization since Trump's return to the White House and came against the backdrop of a government shutdown that not only has closed federal programs and services but is testing the core balance of power, as an aggressive executive confronts Congress and the courts in ways that protest organizers warn are a slide toward authoritarianism.

In comments Friday, Donald Trump opposed the protest organizers' characterization of him as a would-be monarch.

"They say they're referring to me as a king. I'm not a king," Trump said in a Fox News interview.

Later Friday, a Trump campaign social media account mocked the protests by posting a computer-generated video of the president clothed like a monarch, wearing a crown and waving from a balcony.

At a White House event on Wednesday, Trump tried to downplay the No Kings events. "I hear very few people [are] going to be there, by the way, but they have their day coming up and they want to have their day in the sun," he said. Trump is spending the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.

In a counter-programming move, JD Vance and defense secretary Pete Hegseth were attending a live-fire amphibious capabilities demonstration at Camp Pendleton in California to commemorate the US Marine Corps' 250th birthday.

However, a plan to fire live artillery shells over a nearby highway drew objections from governor Gavin Newsom, who said it forced the California highway patrol to close a portion of a major interstate through southern California for safety reasons.

"The President is putting his ego over responsibility with this disregard for public safety," the Democratic governor said in a statement. "Firing live rounds over a busy highway isn't just wrong -- it's dangerous." ...

Whiskeytown - A Song For You (1999)
www.youtube.com

Lyrics excerpt ...

genius.com

...
Oh my land is like a wild goose
Wanders all around everywhere
Trembles and it shakes til every tree is loose
It rolls the meadows and it rolls the nails
So take me down to your dance floor
And I won't mind the people when they stare
Paint a different color on your front door
And tomorrow we will still be there

Jesus built a ship to sing a song to
It sails the rivers and it sails the tide
Some of my friends don't know who they belong to
Some can't get a single thing to work inside
So take me down to your dance floor
And I won't mind the people when they stare
Paint a different color on your front door
And tomorrow we will still be there
...

FWIW, the album the song is on is one of my favorite tribute albums.

Return of the Grievous Angel: A Tribute to Gram Parsons
en.wikipedia.org

... Return of the Grievous Angel: A Tribute to Gram Parsons is a 1999 tribute album to pioneering country rock musician Gram Parsons, co-produced by his one-time singing partner, Emmylou Harris and featuring cover versions of songs written/co-written by or popularized by Parsons, performed by Harris, Beck, Wilco, The Pretenders, Cowboy Junkies, Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow, Lucinda Williams, David Crosby, Steve Earle, Chris Hillman and many other artists.

The album was released from Almo Sounds and benefited Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation's "Campaign for a Landmine Free World." ...

As 'No Kings' protests decry Trump, surveillance worries emerge
www.reuters.com

... People who take part in Saturday's mass "No Kings" protest against President Donald Trump's administration may be targeted for federal government surveillance with a range of technology that could include facial recognition and phone hacking, civil libertarians said.

"No Kings" organizers expect 2,600 rallies across all 50 U.S. states. But the level of surveillance at protests and the type of technology in use is likely to be both location-specific and dependent on the police forces present, said Thorin Klosowski, a security and privacy activist with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said Friday.

For instance, crowds in Washington, D.C., where anti-scale fencing has been erected around the White House complex, are likely to be surveilled differently than those in a small rural town.

"Under previous administrations, law enforcement surveillance of peaceful demonstrations was already commonplace and corrosive of free expression," Ryan Shapiro, executive director of government transparency group Property of the People, said in an email Friday.

"Given Trump's open hostility to even minor dissent, such surveillance now poses an existential threat to what remains of American democracy and only underscores the need for mass protest." ...