United States of America - October 2025

On 18 October, an estimated 7 million people across all 50 states and about 2,600 locations took part in the ‘No Kings’ protests against President Donald Trump. The peaceful mobilizations, one of the largest in U.S. history and the largest of this century, voiced opposition to the Trump administration’s policies and agenda, including its immigration strategy, the reversal of respect for certain rights and attempts to broaden presidential power. Trump and other government officials attempted to discredit the movement, labelling it ‘anti-American’ and organized by the ‘radical’ left. Despite attempts by some officials to characterize participants as violent, the demonstrations were overwhelmingly peaceful, with only minor clashes involving counter-protesters. The protest surpassed the attendance records of the first ‘No Kings’ protest in June (nearly 6 million people in attendance) and the 2017 Women’s March (nearly 5.3 million in attendance).

Sources: ACLU, CNN, New York Times

In October, it was revealed that President Donald Trump submitted a claim for compensation from the Department of Justice (DOJ) in which he has demanded payment of USD 230 million. The claims were filed in 2023 and 2024, prior to the start of his second term. One of the claims regards the investigation into alleged Russian interference during the 2016 election, an inquiry that began during his first term in office. The second concerns the classified documents investigation and the search of his Mar-a-Lago property in 2022. The claims have raised concerns over a potential conflict of interest. The DOJ officials who would have the power to approve any settlement—the deputy attorney general and associate attorney general—represented him and a co-defendant, respectively, in the inquiry into the alleged mishandling of classified documentation. Trump has publicly asserted that the final decision over the claims rests in his hands.

Sources: New York Times, CBS, The Guardian, Axios, CNN