Zeteto founder and broadcaster Mehdi Hasan attended a “No Kings” rally on Saturday, delivering blistering remarks against US President Donald Trump in Washington. The rally, held across 50 states and attended by over 7 million people according to the latest estimate from CNN, is part of a nationwide movement opposing political corruption and the idea of lifelong political power, with over 2,500 demonstrations this weekend.

Hasan, who moved to the US from the United Kingdom, said he attended the rally out of love for the country and its democratic principles that reject “authoritarian regime”. He expressed his respect and admiration for American diversity and constitutional values.

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Mehdi Hasan targets Trump’s immigrant background

During his speech, Hasan pointed out the irony in Trump’s own immigrant background. “Donald Trump is the son of an immigrant, the grandson of an immigrant, and married to an immigrant,” Hasan said. “In fact, two of his three wives were immigrants, proving yet again that immigrants will do the jobs even Americans are not willing to do.” He added that immigrants value America more because they made a conscious choice to move and took an oath to uphold the Constitution, something “Trump had failed to respect.”

For the unversed, Donald Trump’s grandfather, Friedrich Trump, was a German-American immigrant businessman who moved from Kallstadt, Rhineland-Palatinate (then part of the Kingdom of Bavaria) in 1885 at the age of 16. Trump has been married three times, and two of his wives, including Ivana Marie Zelníčková Trump and Melania Trump, have immigrant backgrounds. Only Marla Maples is American.

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Mehdi Hasan delivers fiery speech at ‘No Kings’ rally

The Indian Origin journalist also responded to Republican leaders who had dismissed the “No Kings” gatherings as “hate rallies”. He criticised leaders like House Speaker Mike Johnson. “The people who can’t get through a single day without hating on late-night comedians, overweight soldiers, Muslim politicians, Mexican immigrants, Palestinian refugees, Black women, transgender kids, and even Mr Potato Head, they are lecturing us on hate? Really?” Hasan asked.

“I’m here because I love this country. I love the First Amendment. I love our democracy. I love our diversity,” Hasan said. “I am not willing to sit back and watch our democratic experiment destroyed by the guy from Home Alone 2!” 

Since taking over the Oval Office in January, Trump has taken aggressive measures on immigration, including deploying troops, conducting ICE raids, and implementing mass deportations. He has gone further by imposing heavy fees on certain visas, including the H-1B, which allows foreign workers the opportunity to work in the US.

On Saturday, New York City’s Times Square and nearby streets were packed with protesters chanting “This is what democracy looks like,” accompanied by drumbeats, cowbells, etc. Demonstrators carried signs reading “Democracy not Monarchy” and “The Constitution is not optional.” The New York Police Department reported over 100,000 peaceful participants across all five boroughs, with no protest-related arrests.