Hundreds of north-Americans living in Portugal have joined the International “No Kings!” movement today, to demonstrate against the policies of Donald Trump.
While millions are taking part in protests across the United States and beyond, Portugal’s AMPT UP for Democracy collective has held its own event in Lisbon, and Indivisible Porto has been busy up north – the idea being to keep up the pressure as Mr Trump’s popularity ‘at home’ is dipping below the 40% mark, ahead of the November mid-terms, where it is just possible that the Republican hold on Congress and the Senate can be broken.
As international press reports stress, this is all about Donald Trump’s “cruel, law-trampling governance.
“It is the third time in less than a year that Americans have taken to the streets as part of a grassroots movement called “No Kings,” the most vocal and visual conduit for opposition to Trump since he began his second term in January 2025,” writes RTE.IE.
The war in Iran, the crippling oil blockade on Cuba, are new issues for north-Americans to fume over. For many this has come down to a fight to hold on to democracy. In fact, one of the many placards being waved in Portugal today said just that: “Fight Facism!”
In Porto, the action took place ‘early’, between 1.30 – 3.30pm. It was organised by ‘Indivisible Porto’. A Portugal resident since 1983 (and member of the symphony orchestra of Casa da Música) Robert Glassburner gave Lusa some of his thoughts: “We are against the policies of the current (U.S.) government, whether external or internal. But most of all (we are against) the war that is happening in the Middle East.
“This war came just on Trump’s orders. It was not authorised by Congress. The Constitution says that any war-type reaction has to be approved by the Congress of the United States,” he explained, adding that his fear is that the conflict will not be over within weeks (as latest forecasts by the Trump administration have suggested).
On more ‘internal matters’, Glassburner returned to the subject of ICE (the immigration control force created by Donald Trump, credited with killing civilians), likening it to a form of PIDE (the secret police during Portugal’s dictatorship) and the Gestapo (the secret police of Nazi Germany).
“I never imagined that this would happen in the United States”, says Glassburner, who lives in Santa Maria da Feira.
Another fellow citizen in the crowd, from Minneapolis, explained how he had moved to Portugal on the day Donald Trump took office.
“In Minneapolis it has been really hard. Many people are still prisoners in their own homes; many immigrants are frightened to walk in the streets, because of ICE,” he said.
Among the chanting today, were slogans for the very minorities that the Trump administration has turned its back on.
Bottom line, organisers of the first demo in Porto said the event reflected the “frustration and alarm” that many north-Americans feel in relation to policies that “undermine democratic institutions and the state of Law”.
The hope, certainly of Indivisible Porto, is that more fellow citizens ‘stand up and show how they feel’, including contacting elected representatives in the United States, and voting in any upcoming elections.
As for the ‘sister protest’ in Lisbon, at this point we have no details, just the image below:
Source material: LUSA/ RTE.IE
