AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
Hundreds of protests took place across the country on Saturday to oppose a slew of President Trump's policies and actions, ranging from mass deportations to cuts in foreign aid. Rallies of varying sizes took place in cities, including Philadelphia, Milwaukee and, where Juliana Kim begins this report, the nation's capital.
JULIANA KIM, BYLINE: Across the street from Vice President JD Vance's residence in Washington, D.C., protesters lined several blocks. As they held up signs, a steady drumbeat of honking cars echo their support.
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KIM: Andrew Karlyn (ph) said it was his fourth protest since President Trump returned to office for a second term. Part of what drives Karlyn is the worry that Americans will become desensitized by the president's plans and policies.
ANDREW KARLYN: I'm worried that in a lot of ways that we've normalized the really outrageous things that have been going on.
KIM: Earlier on Saturday, Alex Hobson (ph) and his husband traveled from North Carolina to join the protest in Lafayette Square near the White House.
ALEX HOBSON: We left at 4 in the morning, and we got here just now (laughter). But honestly, the drive to keep America free brought us here. I feel pain every day going to work knowing that people are suffering, and it wears on me every day.
KIM: Among the issues that Hobson is most concerned about is immigration. He works at a Walmart and knows people in his personal life who are fearful about mass deportations. Nationwide, more than 800 protests and other events were scheduled on Saturday as acts of resistance against the Trump administration. The protests were organized by the 50501 movement, the same group that was behind the large-scale rallies on Presidents' Day back in February. The group's national press coordinator, Hunter Dunn, say the protest movement is founded on four principles.
HUNTER DUNN: We're pro-democracy. We're in favor of preserving the Constitution. We're against executive overreach, and we're nonviolent.
KIM: In Philadelphia, hundreds gathered in front of Independence Hall. Many felt compelled to show up because they're from the birthplace of America, and Saturday marked the 250th anniversary of the start of the American Revolution. Anthony Camp (ph) told member station WHYY he is worried that the country's founding ideals are being threatened.
ANTHONY CAMP: I'm here because I feel like the democracy that we all cherish and learned about from childhood on up is at risk. I'm here because the current head of our government is doing things that are dangerous for all of the population and for the world. And I think he's got to be stopped.
KIM: In Milwaukee, Gerald Leahy (ph) told member station WPR he was showing up in hopes to pressure lawmakers, specifically Democratic leaders, to push back against Trump.
GERALD LEAHY: Two times, they've lost to this man - that is pathetic. So I think there needs to be a serious reboot of the party.
KIM: And in Lexington, Kentucky, former social studies teacher Sioux Finney (ph) told member station WEKU that she intends to continue protesting because she believes the country is facing a political moment unlike any in its history.
SIOUX FINNEY: This is not normal, and it requires protests that are not the normal thing. We need to keep coming together and keep speaking up.
KIM: The White House didn't respond to our request for comment, but the president has repeatedly asserted that the country supports his decisions.
Juliana Kim, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF LA LOM'S "SANTEE ALLEY") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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