Robert De Niro is encouraging people in the United States to join the “No Kings” protests against U.S. President Donald Trump, happening across America on Oct. 18.
In a video shared to Instagram, De Niro, 82, spoke about the “original ‘No Kings’ protest” that took place 250 years ago.
“Americans decided they didn’t want to live under the rule of King George III. They declared their independence and fought a bloody war for democracy,” De Niro said. “We’ve had two and a half centuries of democracy since then. Often challenging, sometimes messy, always essential. And we’ve fought in two World Wars to preserve it.”
“Now we have a would-be king who wants to take it away — King Donald the First. F— that,” the Oscar winner continued. “We’re rising up again, this time non-violently raising our voices to declare, ‘No Kings.’”
“I’m Robert De Niro asking you to stand up and be counted in the nationwide ‘No Kings’ protest on October 18th,” the actor said, concluding. “We’re all in this together — indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
The “No Kings” protests first took place this year in hundreds of American cities on June 14 during a military parade in Washington that marked the U.S. army’s 250th anniversary, which coincided with Trump’s birthday.
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The protests were held to counter what organizers said were Trump’s plans to feed his ego on his 79th birthday (which was also Flag Day). The “No Kings” theme was orchestrated by the 50501 Movement — which stands for 50 states, 50 protests, one movement, and is made up of members of the American public who say they stand for democracy and against what they call the authoritarian actions of the Trump administration.
Protesters have called for Trump to be “dethroned,” as they compare his actions to that of a king and not a democratically elected president.
“They’ve defied our courts, deported Americans, disappeared people off the streets, attacked our civil rights, and slashed our services,” the group says on its website, referring to the Trump administration and its policies. “They’ve done this all while continuing to serve and enrich their billionaire allies.”
Stephen Colbert also called for people to join the protests on Tuesday’s episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
“In response to all this obvious abuse of authoritarian power by the administration, this weekend, ladies and gentlemen, there will be 2,500 rallies across the United States under the banner of the ‘No Kings’ protest,” Colbert said, before cutting to a clip of U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson referring to the protests as the “Hate America rally.”
“Hate America? It’s ‘No Kings.’ America does not like kings. There are only three good kings in America: Gayle (King), Stephen (King) and Burger (King),” he added.
The “No Kings” coalition responded to Johnson’s comments, referring to the protest as the “Hate America rally” and blaming it for “the ongoing government shutdown.”
“Speaker Johnson is running out of excuses for keeping the government shut down. Instead of reopening the government, preserving affordable healthcare, or lowering costs for working families, he’s attacking millions of Americans who are peacefully coming together to say that America belongs to its people, not to kings,” the group said, adding that they will “see everyone on October 18.”
— With files from The Associated Press
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