Over the past weekend, several ‘No Kings’ protests took place in cities across Spain to protest President Donald Trump’s policies and the war with Iran.
Organised by Democrats Abroad, the official branch of the Democratic Party representing American citizens living overseas, the protests were attended by thousands in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Seville.
The main protest took place in Madrid’s Puerta del Sol, under the slogan “No tyrants”, with the aim of capturing the attention of visiting Americans and the media.
Maggie Zelonis, president of Democrats Abroad in Madrid, denounced the Trump administration’s “illegal actions, both at home and abroad,” emphasising the high daily cost of the “illegal and unconstitutional war” in Iran and immigration enforcement under ICE.
“He (Trump) is starting wars and sending federal agents into our communities, into the streets, to distract from his own issues, the Epstein Files, among many other things,” Zelonis added.
Demonstrators holding anti Donald Trump placards take part in a ‘No Kings Day’ protest in Madrid on March 28th, 2026. Photo: Thomas COEX / AFP
In Barcelona, around 1,500 protesters (according to the local police) and 5,000 (according to organisers), also joined in the fight against the US administration.
Activists carried banners that read ‘Rights for everyone’, ‘A world against racism and fascism’, ‘Stop racism and wars’ and ‘World against racism’, among others.
Iolanda Maurici of Unitat contra el Feixisme (Unit Against Fascism) who attended the demonstration, told reporters that it was a call to stand up to the rise of the far right and “To show that there are more of us” and that “they will not prevail”.
Another round of ‘No Kings’ protests were held in Spain in October 2025. Photo: Thomas COEX / AFP
In Valencia another march took place in the centre of the city. There, protestors carried banners with slogans such as ‘No Kings in America’, ‘This is what democracy looks like and ‘Ice belongs in our coffees, not our communities’, among others.
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Heather Wallace, co-chair of Democrats Abroad Valencia, explained that the demonstrations were held “so that Americans in Spain, and in Valencia specifically, know that they are not alone, know that they have colleagues and friends who feel the same way they do”.
Madrid is the Spanish region with the biggest concentration of American residents. Photo: Thomas COEX / AFP
The ‘No Kings’ marches in Spain took place at the same time as widespread demonstrations across the United States with an estimated 8 million attendees rallying against President Donald Trump’s policies, the rising cost of living and the war with Iran.
Major events took place in New York, Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and Saint Paul in Minnesota, among others.
A demonstrator holds a sign reading “Sorry Spain, we will fix our mess” during a ‘No Kings Day’ anti-Donald Trump’s policies protest in Madrid. Photo: Thomas COEX / AFP
The protests rejecting authoritarianism and the policies of President Donald Trump, also spread across the world with similar demonstrations also taking place in Italy, France, Germany and Portugal this past weekend.
The first ‘No Kings’ protest took place in June 2025, coinciding with Trump’s 79th birthday and the military parade he organised to celebrate it. This is now the third one to be held in cities across the world.
Diplomatic relations between Spain and the US are particularly strained currently given the Spanish government’s staunch opposition to the American and Israeli-led attacks on Iran and the escalating conflict in the Middle East.
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Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was the first high-profile leader in the West to clearly state “no to war”.
This was followed by a ban on the US military using shared military bases on Spanish soil to launch attacks on Iran, and the closure of Spanish airspace to planes taking part in the war.
According to data from Spain’s Immigration Observatory, as of June 30th 2025, there were 48,713 US nationals residing in Spain.
