By Jon Johnson
SAFFORD – More than 30 local protesters braved the heat at the intersection of 20th Avenue and Highway 70 in Safford/Thatcher on Saturday morning to join the nationwide “No Kings” protest that gathered people across the United States.
Locally, the protest was organized by the Graham County Democratic Party.
The “No Kings” protests across the nation were a coordinated effort to oppose President Donald J. Trump’s perceived authoritarianism, particularly his immigration policies and symbolic military parade.
More than 2,000 protests were held in cities and towns in every state. More than 80,000 people marched along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia, and more than 20,000 flooded the streets of Downtown Los Angeles.
In Arizona, thousands marched in Phoenix and Tucson, while smaller municipalities, such as Globe, Oro Valley, and Safford, had protesters lined up along the roads, holding signs.
The protests countered President Trump’s military parade on Flag Day, which coincided with the Army’s 250th anniversary of its founding and also marked Trump’s 79th birthday. The parade reportedly cost taxpayers between $25 million and $40 million.
Among other atrocities, protesters claim Trump illegally sent 4,000 National Guard members to Los Angeles after Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids sparked protests in Downtown L.A.
Opponents also claim that Trump has “sold out the U.S.” to foreign influence through his meme coin, $TRUMP, in which more than half of the top 220 coin holders are foreign investors, including Chinese crypto billionaire Justin Sun, who spent $18.5 million on $TRUMP. In May, Trump hosted a gala at his Virginia golf club for the top 220 $TRUMP holders, who collectively spent $148 million to secure their seats. Many in attendance wore elaborate masks to conceal their identities upon arrival and departure.
Critics have also pointed to Trump’s recent pardons of evidence of corruption, including the pardon of Paul Walczak, a former nursing home executive who was convicted of tax evasion. Walcazk stole millions of dollars from nurses to fund a lavish lifestyle. After his mother paid $1 million to attend a fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago, Trump pardoned Walcazk days after his sentencing, waiving an 18-month prison sentence but, perhaps more importantly, also waiving the $4 million Walcazk was initially ordered to pay in restitution to the nurses. Critics argue that this appears to present a two-tiered system of justice, in which the wealthy are exempt from accountability for their criminal acts.
These are just some of the actions that protesters believe make Donald Trump appear to want to be a dictator or a king, and not a president.
