Thousands of demonstrators opposing large expanses of President Trump’s agenda went down to the streets through the United States on Monday, calling Trump “king” on the day of presidents for his efforts to end Thousands of federal workers and to dismiss independent prosecutors and duty in the federal government.
Trump Mr. Trump suggested on social networks That he would not take into account the concerns that his radical actions could break the laws, displaying a riff on a sentence often attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte: “He who saves his country does not violate any law.”
“No king, no crown, we will not back down,” chanted those who gathered a few hundred meters from the American Capitol of the National Mall in Washington.
Many demonstrators opposed to Mr. Trump’s agenda have embraced the symbols of patriotism, waving flags and wearing heart -shaped earrings and caps adorned with the American flag. The members of an a cappella group sang the national anthem by the Capitol Reflector Pool. The public broke out in applause after the last line: “and the courageous house”.
“It’s our anthem. This is our flag. It belongs to us, “said Shawn Morris, the president of the Washington male gay choir, DC” We wanted to take it back “. Mr. Morris said he was deeply disturbed by Mr. Trump’s movements To push transgender people outside the militarY and to erase any mention Federal government websites. He expressed his concerns that the protections of same -sex weddings could then be threatened.
“There is nothing more patriotic than fighting tyranny,” said Kat Duresterhaus, who traveled from Miami to join the Washington demonstration. “We are here because we are patriots.”
The demonstrations occurred while the Democrats had trouble countering Mr. Trump’s movements, the Republicans holding majorities both in the Chamber and in the Senate and to the leaders and Democrats worried about alienating voters By reacting in a hurry without first thinking about the reasons why they lost in 2024. Many activists, however, expressed the frustration of the absence of a more aggressive position.
Kaitlin Robertson, a participant in the demonstration that does plea work for survivors of domestic violence, brought an American flag upside down and said that the country was in “constitutional crisis”, a term that Some legal researchers have said corresponding to the scope Affirmations from the Trump Administration of the Executive Authority in the face of legal challenges.
“It is a symbol of distress,” she said about the flag upside down, which was also adopted by Trump supporters in his efforts to overthrow the 2020 elections that he lost. “It’s a good symbol for what’s going on.”
The large group organizing the event has identified as the Movement 50501A local effort to repel what he considers to be “overcoming” the second term of Mr. Trump by reshaping the government.
Sarah Parker, executive director of the member organization of 50501, Voices of Florida, said that the national demonstrations had been supplied by a position on Reddit. The conversation on Reddit gained ground because more and more people who were looking for ways to act on their frustrations about the Trump administration joined the conversation, she said.
The concerns of Mr. Trump’s agenda among the demonstrators ran the whole range, including his foreign policies. Joseph Schiarizzi, a protester who was holding a NATO flag and described herself as a leaning libertarian, said the Trump administration had “tried to dismantle and sabotage” the military alliance by appearing Russia on the Ukraine.
“Sallery does not work,” he said.
Other demonstrators have also accused the congress of not doing enough to check the Trump administration. Nadya Downs, who directed the song “Where is Congress?” Do your job, “said legislators, it was better to question the unilateral actions of the Trump administration.
“I saw a lot of angry people at the congress,” she said. “But where is the action?”
Similar rallies of varying sizes and names, some were presented as “not my presidents” and others called “No Kings’ Day”, took place across the country, including in Union Square in New York; a post office in Nantucket, Massachusetts; The Poff Federal Building in Roanoke, Virginia; And the California State Capitol in Sacramento.
The Sacramento police department estimated the size of the crowd at the Capitol from 1,200 to 1,500.
In New York, thousands of people walked from Union Square to Washington Square Park on Monday afternoon. Under the arc, they brandished American flags and handwritten panels like “Stop the Coup” and “No billionaire kings”, referring to the role of the technological billionaire Elon Musk in Mr. Trump’s efforts to shrink and redo the Federal workforce.
Dominic Santiago, 29, a flatbush artist, Brooklyn, said he came to be solidarity with other New Yorkers who opposed the Trump administration.
“I have faith because of these demonstrations,” he said. “I have faith that we can change things.”
Lillian Bacon, 25, a student specializing in political science, said: “I am here today to fight for democracy and fight for the freedom and dignity of everyone.”
It was his first participation in a public demonstration. She said that she had become furious and disappointed by Mr. Trump, Mr. Musk and the Republican leaders for what she considered their violation of the constitutional separation of powers. “I hope there will be solidarity among all Americans even if they vote for Trump,” she said.
The demonstrators also gathered on the steps of the Capitol of the State of Arkansas. Among them, Tanya Hollifield, an artist from Little Rock. “I took my sign that said” fighting fascism everywhere, “she said.
“I think they demolish the entire system of checks and counterweights, and the Elon Musk coup, or Takeover, is one of the current things that really annoy me,” she said .
In downtown Atlanta, a crowd gathered in front of the Capitol of the State singing: “Hey, hey, ho, ho. Elon Musk must leave. “In Austin, outside Texas Capitol, a video of a local affiliate of CBS showed a woman, who identified as Kristin Jenn, taking the microphone while wearing a sign saying” Donald Trump stole my work”.
“The National Park Service was very hard on Friday,” she told the crowd. “A number of my colleagues have lost their jobs. They cannot remove my work, force me to obtain a government document, then call me parasite. »»
Ms. Jenn said she was an average age and earned less than $ 50,000 a year in her federal job. The organizers of Austin said that their objective was to postpone the 2025 project, the plan of a conservative reflection group for a republican presidency reflected In a series of decrees by Mr. Trump.