![A protester in a chicken suit wearing a taco hat with the words “Cluck Trump” at the “No Kings” Democracy Fair in Palo Alto on Saturday. Protestor Mary Chan said she and her husband are horrified at the state of science and medicine in America. “What he [Trump] is doing by defunding scientific research is destroying our academic medical centers, and he’s [Trump] bankrupting rural medical centers,” Chan said. “We will have lasting negative impacts on American health for decades.”](https://palyvoice.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/11562FFE-9912-4152-BB01-582426B52ECB_1_105_c.jpeg)
Jeshurun Wang
A protester in a chicken suit wearing a taco hat with the words “Cluck Trump” at the “No Kings” Democracy Fair in Palo Alto on Saturday. Protestor Mary Chan said she and her husband are horrified at the state of science and medicine in America. “What he [Trump] is doing by defunding scientific research is destroying our academic medical centers, and he’s [Trump] bankrupting rural medical centers,” Chan said. “We will have lasting negative impacts on American health for decades.”
Organizers of the “No Kings” protest and Democracy Fair in Palo Alto over the weekend say they are pleased with the thousands of people who showed up to protest against President Donald Trump and his administration’s policies.
The fair, at Rinconada Park, was organized by four local chapters of the national grassroots movement Indivisible: Indivisible Palo Alto Plus, Indivisible Portola Valley, Indivisible Mid-Peninsula, and Blue Turn Indivisible.
Mariya Genzel, the founder of Turn Blue Indivisible, is one of the groups that organized the event.
“We estimate 6,000 attendees at the fair and 8,000 across all three of our joint events [workshops, parade, and the fair],” Genzel stated in an email to The Paly Voice.
The “Democracy Fair” was part two of three parts of the “No Kings” parade at Town and Country Village. The overall “No Kings” event was a repeat of the demonstrations from June, except for the influx of new supporters for the protest, up almost 2 million from 5 million, according to NPR.
According to the official “No Kings” website, more than 7 million protesters, roughly 2% of the American population, participated in more than 2,700 events nationwide on Saturday.
As before, many protesters held up signs and colorful costumes as passing cars honked in support.
According to Genzel, the Democracy Fair is a way to inspire people to take action on issues they see in the news.
“There are so many people in the country who are really worried, anxious and upset,” Genzel said. “Many people don’t know what to do with those thoughts. … We can decide what we want America to be, and we can take action. This whole fair … helps people see that there are concrete things they can do. … We hope people, after experiencing the fair today, can take this knowledge and know what to do when they turn on the news and they see what’s happening.”
The fair started with protesters marching down Embarcadero Road At the fair, protesters held signs and flew American flags among the various workshops that included topics of immigration, healthcare, and human rights designed to engage the community.
Jason Titus, a member of Indivisible Palo Alto Plus, was inspired to take a leadership role as a co-organizer of the “No Kings” Democracy Fair after participating with his family in the previous “No Kings” protest. Titus said he has never seen such a shift away from democratic ideals in America and wants the protests to catch the attention of those in power.
“What we’ve seen in countries that were falling into autocracy, [is] when about three and a half percent of the population comes out and starts protesting and resisting, that has historically led to their fall and transition back into democracy,” Titus said. “We’re hoping that across the country, in over 26 hundred protests, that we will have many millions of folks and it will signal to the folks in power that they need to pay attention to the constitution and actually govern responsibly.”
Towards the middle of the event, featured speakers included U.S. Congressional Representative Sam Liccardo, Palo Alto Board of Education member Alison Kamhi and Representative for Cultivating LGBTQ Allyship Elijah Bendiner.
According to Celia Price, a volunteer at the event who has been involved with Indivisible since the very beginning of Trump’s first term, the “No Kings” protest is about people who love and protect America.
“It’s really important that we bring out the community to educate ourselves and to find a path forward that protects our constitution,” Price said. “You’ll see that everywhere, this is not a hateful group. In fact, the entire movement is about peace and love.”
Greg Miller ran the Santa Clara County Single Payer Health Care Coalition table at the Democracy Fair. Miller’s main reason for protest is that he thinks Trump’s cuts will cost the county a billion dollars a year.
“They’re [Medicaid cuts] scandalous and outrageous,” Miller said. “They’re [the bill] cutting people’s health care to give money to billionaires as if the billionaires need more money. Our government, our system, should be set up so that people’s basic needs are met for everybody. Everybody. Not just those who can afford it.”
Genzel says there will be plans for future protests.
“People in America have been a little complacent about the democracy that we have here. … You have to constantly take action to maintain a democracy. It is not something that will be here by default.
Kristen Snyder, a Palo Alto High School alum and a member of the safety team working at the Democracy Fair, said that she has previous experience as a safety monitor for similar events.
“For the most part, I feel that the people who have come have been doing a great job of just remaining peaceful,” Snyder said. “People are able to see our presence and we’re able to remind them to remain peaceful, which also helps.”
Towards the end of the entire event, a group of around 20 Trump supporters marched into the “No Kings” Democracy Fair at 3:50 p.m., 10 minutes before the end of the event.
Some sported “MAGA” hats and pro-Trump flags, and the “No Kings” protesters immediately responded to the counter-protesters with a song-chant of “Power to the people!” accompanied by repeated clapping and booing.
One Trump supporter held a loudspeaker and said there was no king.
“There’s no king here! If there were a king, then you would all be arrested!”
Louisa Ip was one of the counter-protesters. She identified herself as a former Democrat who voted for former President Barack Obama twice, but decided to support Trump from the 2016 election onward. Ip said America needed to bring conservative values back.
“Most of them [No Kings protesters] truly don’t understand what ‘No Kings’ is,” Ip said. “They [No Kings protesters] just repeat hatred. They run on emotions. I want people to use facts and critical thinking.”
A Sunnyvale resident, who requested to be anonymous, said she wanted to tell the “No Kings” protesters that Trump supporters won’t be discouraged from protests like these.
“The message is [that] he is our duly elected president. We elected him, and whether you like it or not, he’s going to be your president. If you’re going to disparage Trump voters, that’s a problem, because half of the country is Trump voters. We’re not dumb. We’re very educated … You have to live and coexist with us.”
Price said that the event organizers welcome dialogue.
“We welcome free speech, and we are protecting everyone’s ability to speak their mind,” Price said. “We’re not intending on doing anything to prevent them from speaking. They [Trump supporters] are welcome to be here as long as they stay peaceful.”