On Saturday, Oct. 18, organized mass protests against the Trump Administration took place across the country, including at Traverse City’s Civic Center park, in the second round of ‘No Kings Day.’ The first No Kings Day occurred in June on the same day that President Trump hosted a military parade in Washington, D.C., to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the US military. It also coincided with Trump’s birthday.

Inspired/prompted by mass government firings, the beginnings of mass deportation efforts, and several other controversial moves by the Trump Administration, the first No Kings Day brought out more than five million protestors, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, one of the event’s organizers. Since then, the Trump Administration has taken more controversial actions to enact its agenda, such as sending National Guard troops into Los Angeles, the nation’s capital, and Chicago, and striking Venezuelan boats, which President Trump alleged were carrying drugs toward the United States. This time around, the events garnered approximately seven million people nationwide, according to the organizers, including several thousand who attended the rally in Traverse City

Protestors at the Civic Center braved a light fall rain and voiced their opposition to the Trump Administration with signs, costumes, speakers, and music.

Costumes ranged from inflatable sharks to outfits referencing popular movies and shows. One attendee dressed as Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings, and held a sign on their staff that read “you shall not rule.” Several signs referenced the new season of Southpark, which ruthlessly joked about Trump and his administration.

Signs held a variety of messages. Many denounced Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), congressional leaders, the deployment of National Guard troops into American cities, and the support the administration has shown Israel in its war in Gaza. One cardboard sign adorned with yellow golf balls read “balls for the members of Congress who lost theirs.”

A recurring symbol in both signs and costumes was the frog. Sally Backofen and Annie Longe, two attendees with frog headbands, explained that the idea of protesting in frog costumes originated in Portland, Oregon. After President Trump had described Portland as overrun by “ANTIFA thugs” and “burning to the ground,” protesters in the city set out to prove him wrong by peacefully protesting in inflatable frog costumes. The frog and inflatable costumes have since become a nationwide phenomenon in anti-Trump protests.

Both Backofen and Longe attended the first No Kings Day rally in June, and they shared that their distaste for the administration’s actions has not quelled since then. They cited the attacks on Caribbean ships and the sometimes violent nature of ICE raids as concerns.

“For me, it’s just the absolute power grab that continues, increasingly, day by day,” Backofen explained, “I just think that we’ve really reached a tipping point where, if the Supreme Court doesn’t stop this… I think we’re there, you know?”

Longe echoed a similar sentiment, “[Trump is] continuing to make decisions that are congressional, Congress’s decisions. He’s making autocratic decisions, such as how we allocate funds, how we use money.”

Frog costumes weren’t the only method rally-goers chose to prove their peace. NMC student Amira Fakir spent her time at the protest making balloon animals for the young children in attendance.

“I was told that all these crazy Republicans and radicals and whatever keep on saying that we’re causing problems, and we’re dangerous. Why not make balloon animals, to be like, ‘Is this really threatening? It’s a balloon animal.’”

Fakir had attended previous protests against the Trump Administration. This time, however, Fakir was grappling with the personal effects the administration’s immigration agenda had on her immigrant family members.

“My family came to America for freedom and for safety, and yet, here we are. They had to leave America for freedom and for safety. And I think that’s a shame.”

The Civic Center, which is approximately a five-minute walk from NMC’s main campus, was an easy place for interested students to access compared to the Governmental Center, where the previous No Kings Day took place. An NMC student, who asked to remain anonymous, saw the protest as an accessible opportunity.

“This is my first protest at all… I knew this was happening, and I wanted to come and show my… distaste for the current president and the current government,” the student explained, “Seeing all the authoritarian policies he tried to implement… It’s my chance to say, ‘Hey, I don’t like this kind of thing’.”

Another student, who wished to be referred to as Leah, did not attend the first No Kings Day protest, but decided to attend the second one after she became increasingly aware of the actions of the Trump Administration.

“I’ve been paying closer attention because everything has been escalating so much. I think one of the big things for me is probably the ICE raids.”
After an hour of music and speakers, including Betty Coffia, a Michigan State Representative from the 103rd district, a crowd of protesters moved to the US-31 intersection next to NMC’s main campus. Protestors