US: mass protests against Trump
Millions of people took to the streets in more than 2,000 cities across the US on Sunday to mark 'No Kings Day'. The protests were primarily directed at the authoritarian behaviour of US President Donald Trump, who is accused of overstepping his legal powers and ruling like a monarch. They also targeted Trump's rigorous immigration policy. European commentators take different views of the rallies.
Would-be king facing resistance
The fall of the US president is just a matter of time, says Der Standard:
“With 'No Kings', Trump's opponents finally have a catchy, rough-and-ready slogan that shows even the disinterested that the US's much-loved democracy is slowly but surely falling apart. ... Under Trump little remains of the respected, even feared, global policeman that the country once was. Russia's Vladimir Putin understood the 'art of dealing with Trump' long ago. Autocratic leaders around the world are simply pushing through their geopolitical interests, partly because they know that Trump is busy turning his country into an autocracy - or worse. In the end, like so many others before him, the king will fail. The question is whether it will be of his own doing or that of the people, who won't tolerate neo-kings.”
Acid test for democracy
The events of the weekend show how divided US society is, The Irish Times stresses:
“The shocking assassination on Saturday of a senior Minnesota politician ... is vivid evidence of the deep and dangerous polarisation of US politics. ... The country's divisions were also vividly manifest on the streets on Saturday ... Trump has said that the 'enemy from within' is more dangerous than foreign adversaries, and has conjured up images of insurrection to justify special powers. The sheer number of political confrontations across the country, and the fact that the president, instead of being a force for reconciliation is, as one historian has put it, 'fuelling the fires', makes this a dangerous time for the US. Democracy is being tested.”
Little hope
Economist Loukis Skaliotis voices doubt in the Cyprus Mail:
“I fear that Trump will continue on this path towards autocracy and will have no hesitation to use force to crush any resistance that the people in the US may express. Sometime ago, an anonymous writer, a former US diplomat, wrote in the Guardian ('A plea to the west: help us save America's democracy, May 1) imploring the rest of the world not to give up on America. He asked for nations not to remain silent but express their support for the institutions and the people of the US. I cannot really see what the rest of the world can do apart from calling things the way they are. Unfortunately, as Elon [Musk] found out first hand, these words are falling on deaf ears.”