BOSTON — Mayor Michelle Wu and other Massachusetts lawmakers sounded off on President Donald Trump’s administration’s policies as thousands of people flocked to Boston Common for Saturday afternoon’s “No Kings” protest.
“In this city of champions, in this city of immigrants and workers, in this hub of the universe and cradle of liberty, for the last 250 years and counting, in Boston, every day is no king’s day,” Wu told the crowd.
Wu’s comments to protesters, many of whom held signs that read, “Fight Fascism,” “We are not OK,” and “We the people are the boss,” come amid Trump’s repeated criticism of the city’s “sanctuary” policies.
Just this past week, Trump threatened to relocate 2026 FIFA World Cup games out of Boston due to safety concerns, saying, “I love the people of Boston, and I know the games are sold out. But your mayor is not good.” A recent crackdown on “illegal aliens,” dubbed “Operation Patriot 2.0,” also yielded more than 1,400 arrests in Boston and other parts of the state, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“Day after day, this president and his corrupt cabinet mistake cruelty for greatness and chaos for power,” Wu added. “These are the tools of a tyrant desperate for the respect that he’ll never earn.”
The protest in Boston, one of more than 100 that took place across Massachusetts and one of thousands nationwide, was also attended by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Edward Markey, and Attorney General Andrea Campbell, among other notable guests.
Like Wu, Warren was highly critical of Trump.
“Donald Trump wants to put on a shiny little crown and prance around and pretend he is a monarch, but Donald Trump is not a king. Donald Trump is a bully,” Warren said.
This browser does not support the video element.
Warren said the nationwide No Kings demonstrations are the epitome of patriotism.
“Hundreds of thousands of people protesting peacefully for what they believe in, that is deeply American, that is patriotism,” Warren told the crowd.
Markey also blasted the president, saying, “Donald Trump is a walking, talking constitutional crisis every day that he is in office.”
Event organizers estimate that about 125,000 people attended the Boston protest.
According to the “No Kings” movement’s website, Saturday was a “peaceful national day of action and mass mobilization in response to the increasing authoritarian excesses and corruption of the Trump administration.”
The Republican Party described Saturday as a day of “Hate America” rallies.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW