President Donald Trumpsaid he doesn't feel like royalty when asked for his response on the "No Kings" ralliesplanned across the country in protest of his expansive use of executive power. About 2,000 protests against the two-term Republican are expected to coincide with amilitary paradebeing held in Washington D.C on June 14 on the U.S. Army's 250thanniversary and Trump's 79thbirthday.Protest organizers say Trump is "hijacking" the Army's anniversary to "feed his ego" and celebrate himself. "I don't feel like a king. I have to go through hell to get stuff approved," Trump said in response to a reporter's question in the White House right after he signed three resolutions overturningCalifornia's mandate to banthe sale of new gas-powered vehicles and speed up the adoption of electric vehicles by 2035. "The king would have never had the California mandate. He wouldn't have to call upMike Johnsonand say, 'fellas, you have got to pull this off,'" Trump said, referring to House Speaker Mike Johnson. "And after years, we get it done. No, no, we're not a king." Indivisible, a progressive group, alongside a coalition of partner organizations, said it's holding the events to "reject authoritarianism and show the world what democracy actually looks like: people, united, refusing to be ruled." The parade along the National Mall is set to featurethousands of police officersand security measures including metal detectors, anti-scale fencing, concrete barriers and drones overhead surveilling the crowd. It also comes as Trump and California Gov. Gavin Newsom arelocked in a standoffover the use of the National Guard and the U.S. military to helpquell protests that have sprung upin Los Angeles against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement sweeps carried out at the president's direction. There will be no planned "No Kings" protests for Washington D.C. Organizers said they intentionally avoided having a protest in the capital to avoid being cast as "anti-veteran." The largest protest is instead scheduled for noon ET in Philadelphia, where the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:'I don't feel like a king' says Trump
