Millions take part in "No Kings" protests
Around seven million people went out to protest against Donald Trump in more than 800 cities across the US on Saturday. They accuse the US president of having an authoritarian style of government. The demonstrations under the slogan "No Kings" were for the most part peaceful. Commentators look at the causes of the protests and their potential impact.
Midterm elections will be the moment of truth
Protests alone won't stop Trump, writes the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung:
“It will be interesting to see whether the protests continue – and whether the Democrats manage to capitalise on them. ... Because although it's already nine months since Donald Trump took office, they still have little to counter the government with. The moment of truth will come in a year's time with the midterm elections: then we will see whether Trump can continue as before – and whether the protests will be more than just a footnote in the Trump era.”
To the very end
Donald Trump is banking on growing social division, warns The Guardian:
“Increasingly, serious analysts not prone to hyperbole are warning that Trump seems bent on provoking a second American civil war. The evidence is piling up. The most obvious is Trump's deployment of US troops on the streets of America's cities. ... This is a political act by Trump, designed to intimidate potential strongholds of opposition. ... Trump likes talking the peace talk when it comes to Palestinians and Israelis or Russians and Ukrainians. But inside the US, where red meets blue, he does not see a contest between rivals but rather a conflict with an enemy he admits he hates - one that has to be fought by any means necessary, even to the very end.”
The Old Continent knows the consequences
Authoritarianism was previously alien to Americans, explains Onet.pl:
“American democracy is in good shape, but in worse shape than it was some time ago. Donald Trump's attacks on the media, his campaign of revenge against imaginary or real political opponents, the dismissal of prosecutors who refuse to work on call, the deployment of the military in American cities – all this must seem frightening when seen from the other side of the Atlantic. ... The Americans have never been confronted with authoritarian rule, whereas we, unfortunately, have plenty of experience in this respect. They don't know, but we do, what the consequences are when the US president thinks he's a king.”