UP TO 7 million people took part in a “No Kings” nationwide protest opposing US President Donald Trump on Saturday, according to organisers.

In a statement they said: “In one of the largest single-day nationwide demonstrations in US history, nearly 7 million Americans gathered today, 2 million more than June, in over 2,700 cities and towns for the No Kings Day of Peaceful Action, standing together in non-violent defiance of authoritarianism and affirming that this nation belongs to its people, not to kings.”

The previous protests took place on June 14, coinciding with President Trump’s birthday and the linked military parade in Washington. In June around 2,100 protests took place in US cities, involving at least 5 million people.

Around half a million were estimated to have joined the march in downtown San Francisco.

Hundreds gathered at the city’s Ocean Beach to spell out “No Kings” and “Yes on 50” (Proposition 50 would redraw Californian boundaries in retaliation for district gerrymandering in Texas) with their bodies.

Hayley Wingard, who was dressed as the Statue of Liberty and attending her first protest, said: “I was actually OK with everything until I found that the military invasion in Los Angeles and Chicago and Portland – Portland bothered me the most, because I’m from Portland, and I don’t want the military in my cities. That’s scary.”

In Portland, Oregon, there was a carnival atmosphere in the face of President Trump’s prediction of riots. An estimated 40,000 people marched through the city with many dressed in inflatable animal costumes.

The protest in Chicago stretched for two miles, including a route passing Trump Tower. The Chicago Tribune estimated that there were 100,000 attendees.

Medical student Deanthoni Wilkins, who joined the Chicago protest, said: “It’s really inspiring to know I live in a place where people share [my] values.”

President Trump dismissed the protest on Saturday, telling Fox News, “I’m not a king.”