1News US Correspondent, Logan Church, spent the day reporting from the middle of one of the "No Kings" protests in New York, ahead of Donald Trump’s army parade in Washington DC.
The rain pelted the streets and thunderstorm warnings loomed, but that did not stop American patriotism being put on full display today in hundreds of American cities.
What kind of patriotism you saw depended on what city you were in.
In Washington DC, the nation's capital, thousands of soldiers marched through the streets to celebrate the army’s 250th birthday, as President Donald Trump – who came up with the idea for the parade – watched on. It just also happened to be his birthday.
In stark contrast, in Philadelphia, where the army was first formed during the revolution, thousands of civilians marched – appalled at what they were seeing in DC.
They marched under the banner of "No Kings", a growing protest movement opposing just that.
There were similar marches in Los Angeles, where demonstrations continue against the raids on workplaces by Immigration officials. Federal guard and US Marines remain deployed there – ordered by the president to protect federal property.
Once again today, some crowds were met with tear gas. Elsewhere, law enforcement and national guard booed.
Chicago, Atlanta, Denver, New York – all had large protests.
In Philadelphia, where America became a country, protestors scuffled with officers.
In the Big Apple, protestors weaved through the waterlogged streets en masse, many wielding signs portraying Donald Trump as one of the kings the country fought so hard against all those many years ago.
"He's just waging war on American citizens," one woman told me.
"[The parade] is a waste of money and it's disgusting that this tiny little man has so much control over everything... we all need to stand up for democracy and decency."
Another protester chimed: "It is cruel, he is cruel, he wants to take over. And he wants absolute control."
The more people I spoke to, the more I realised that the language seemed so similar to that deployed by Trump and his MAGA movement ahead of the election.
"We’ve got to take our country back before it’s too late."
"They [meaning then-President Biden] are destroying our country."
"No one takes America seriously anymore."
It’s almost like the script is exactly the same – it's just the other side saying it.
"We've gotta get rid of this guy, he's just taking over this country," one man told me, as we sheltered under a tree from the rain.
“Today is his birthday and he's got an army marching – I'm a veteran, so I appreciate the 250th anniversary of the army, but he's making it his own birthday party, and we don't need that. He calls all veterans suckers and losers, but he is using them for political propaganda.”
Another woman told me the events in Los Angeles prompted her to come out. “It makes me sick to my stomach. As a parent with a child in the military, the fact that they are being positioned to be used against civilians is really terrifying and sickening and we should all be really concerned.”
In DC, many turned out to support the army, hoping politics could be forgotten for at least one day.
"It's a time to showcase our military. It's not about anything else that they're saying. It's about showcasing the military, how beautiful our soldiers are,” one retired army officer told Reuters.
"I think today just has to be a military celebration today, put politics aside, we're just here to celebrate the military,” said another.
However, in this country, putting “politics aside” from anything seems increasingly impossible.
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