American people protest against policies of US government, including the war in Iran, in Washington DC on March 28, 2026. According to media reports, over 3,000 demonstrations were planned across the US. Photo: VCG

To the rhythm of beating drums and ringing bells, hundreds of protesters marched past the Lincoln Memorial and onto the National Mall on Saturday, filling the heart of Washington DC with a chorus of chants. 

They were a small fraction among millions of protestors across the US who took to the street on Saturday, March 28, also the one-month anniversary of US-Israeli strikes against Iran, to protest against the policies of the current US administration, ranging from the war in Iran, federal immigration enforcement to the rising cost of living, news outlets including CNN, NBC News and AP reported. 

Over 3,100 demonstrations were planned nationwide and staged in major US cities such as Washington, DC, New York, Boston, Los Angeles and San Francisco, per the Xinhua News Agency. NBC News described it as the "single largest non-violent day of action" in American history. 

The scale of the protests across the US highlighted the strong domestic opposition to the US administration's policies, including the military campaign against Iran, Chinese analysts said. It is a signal of great political and social divergence in the country and of mounting public general dissatisfaction that could ferment this year, which risks more chaos and uncertainty.  

Sweeping rallies 

Among the demonstrations, the flagship rally was held in St. Paul, Minnesota, site of this winter's immigration enforcement operation in which two Americans were killed. On Saturday, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz condemned the immigration crackdown to a roaring crowd in St. Paul, saying the people of his state "will never forget what they did here," NBC News reported

Thousands also crowded New York City's Times Square, marching through Manhattan's Midtown neighborhood. Police had to shut down the normally busy streets to make way for crowds. 

In Chicago, amid a sea of homemade signs, protestors waved dozens of flags representing Palestine, Ireland, Mexico and Lebanon. "Hands off Gaza now" and "End the war and deportation," chanted a group of protesters waving Palestinian flags, per the Guardian.

In Lexington, Massachusetts, where the first battle of the American Revolution took place in 1775, protesters gathered in front of the old yellow building Buckman Tavern, where revolutionaries gathered and waited for the enemies ahead of the battle.

Outside the US, Americans living abroad kicked off the day's demonstrations alongside their neighbors in France, Portugal, Germany, Italy and Greece, the Guardian reported. Footage released by NBC News showed protests taking place in Rome, Madrid, Paris and Athens. 

Meanwhile, counter-protestors organized events in support of the president in a handful of cities. In West Palm Beach, Florida, about 50 Trump supporters verbally clashed with the protesters. CNN reported "some came with mics and flashed 'Proud Boys' caps, T-shirts and flags. Police officers were seen deescalating the situation." Similar events were held in Dallas, where Trump supporters blocked streets and disrupted the march, leading to scuffles and arrests, per media reports. 

Conflicts also erupted in other places, and police sources said more than six dozen protesters were arrested in Los Angeles, where federal authorities deployed tear gas after police said demonstrators threw large concrete blocks and other items, NBC News reported.

Republican officials appeared dismissive of the protests, according to PBS News. White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson characterized them as the product of "leftist funding networks" with little real public support. The "only people who care about these Trump Derangement Therapy Sessions are the reporters who are paid to cover them," Jackson said in a statement.

Li Haidong, a professor at China Foreign Affairs University, believes the protests suggest many Americans do not want the US to be drawn into a new war. Ordinary people, even some steadfast MAGA supporters, believe the US should prioritize its domestic affairs rather than fighting an overseas war with little actual US interests involved, he said.  

Shao Yuqun, a senior research fellow at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, told the Global Times on Sunday that military operations in Iran were launched without Congressional consent, with no sign of when and how to conclude them. US society, already divided, is seeing contradictory opinions over the war, which are creating social tensions. 

According to the AP, US organizers estimated that the first two previous rallies drew more than 5 million people in June and 7 million in October of 2025. They said they were expecting 9 million participants on Saturday, though it was too early to tell whether those expectations were met.

Though more accurate data on the number of participants has not been released so far, Chinese observers noted the expanding scale and scope of the protests, which they believe represent mounting public dissatisfaction that the US administration should pay attention to and deal with, rather than react out of a party politics perspective.

According to Politico, people rallied from New York City, with almost 8.5 million residents in a solidly blue state, to Driggs, a town of fewer than 2,000 people in eastern Idaho, a state Trump carried with 66 percent of the vote in 2024, Politico reported.

According to Xinhua, in Arizona, a state that voted Republican in the 2024 presidential election, organizers confirmed more than 70 protests were scheduled statewide. 

Another ground war? 

The demonstrations took place as the war in Iran marks one month with a looming question over if or when the US might deploy ground troops.  

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said "the enemy signals negotiation in public, while in secret it plots a ground attack," and added that the US, "with a 15-point list, is setting out its wishes and pursuing what it failed to achieve in the war," the BBC reported, citing Iran's official IRNA news agency. 

Ghalibaf added that Iranian forces are "waiting for American soldiers to enter on the ground so they can rain fire upon them."

US sailors and Marines aboard the USS Tripoli arrived at the US Central Command (Centcom) area in the Middle East on Friday, reported The Hill. Centcom stated on Saturday that the flagship delivered about 3,500 sailors and Marines from the Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, along with "transport and strike fighter aircraft, as well as amphibious assault and tactical assets," per the report. 

The military buildup in the Middle East comes amid calls for President Trump to not deploy boots on the ground as part of "Operation Epic Fury." Trump has said he does not intend to send troops to fight, though he has floated the idea of taking over Iran's crucial crude export storage depot, a tactic that would require US ground troops.

The current stalemate in the conflict has left Washington in a difficult dilemma. "Withdrawing would be hard to justify to the American public and regional allies, yet pressing forward offers little prospect of achieving regime change that it earlier claimed to achieve, given the strong unity the Iranian people have shown in resisting external invasion," Li said.

Although a ground war would carry enormous risks and heavy casualties for the US, prolonged deadlock could eventually push the Trump administration to consider this option, Li added. 

Shao noted that the Pentagon would formulate different plans in various scenarios and make relevant preparations, while how the course of the war develops lies in the administration and the president. 

Iran has rejected a US 15-point peace plan and submitted a counterproposal requesting an end to hostilities and sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, among other provisions, reported The Hill.  

A quadrilateral ministerial meeting involving Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey was held in Islamabad, Pakistan on Sunday, which aims to de-escalate the regional conflict, according to Al Jazeera. The outlet's reporter in Islamabad wrote that "a lot of people here in Pakistan believe that because of the history of the two talks that happened between Iran and the US, Trump may be buying time to put soldiers on the ground, who are already on the way."

Shao said if the US wants a "decent departure" from the Middle East, unlike the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, the White House would have to make sure a US success is recognized, not a "self-proclaimed victory," and the situation in the Strait of Hormuz and the region is a key barometer. 

According to Shao, a danger lies in if the US, seeking to maximize military advantage to "end the war in a decent way," adopts the idea of sending ground forces while remaining unaware of the real consequences, and sleep walks into successive deployments of troops.