People across the United States and Europe took to the streets on Saturday to oppose what left-leaning organisations called Donald Trump’s “authoritarian overreach and billionaire-backed agenda”.
At Washington’s national mall, demonstrators from as far afield as New Hampshire and Pennsylvania gathered in the shadow of the George Washington memorial monument, in advance of the anti-Trump rally there.
In overcast conditions, protesters displayed a vast array of placards and, in some cases, Ukrainian flags, expressing opposition to the policies of the administration which has sought cordial relations with Russia amid its invasion of Ukraine.
Some protesters said they hoped the event – the first mass demonstration in Washington DC since Trump took office – would act as an example to inspire others to register opposition. “The aim is get people to rise up,” said Diane Kolifrath, who had travelled from New Hampshire with 100 fellow members of New Hampshire Forward, a civic society organisation.
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Jamie Raskin, a Democratic congressman from Maryland, said the demonstration was part of a “creative and nimble” strategy to resist Trump. He said mass protests needed to be combined with a “smart legislative strategy” to be effective.
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MoveOn, one of the organisations that planned the day of protest they called “Hands Off” along with dozens of labour, environmental and other progressive groups, said more than 1,000 protests had been planned across the US, including at state capitols.
Hundreds of protesters – including Americans living abroad – also took to the streets across major European cities in a show of defiance against the Trump administration. Demonstrators rallied in Frankfurt, Germany, as part of a protest organised by Democrats Abroad. In Berlin, demonstrators stood in front of a Tesla showroom and the US embassy in protest against Trump and adviser Elon Musk, chief executive of Tesla. Some held signs calling for “an end to the chaos” in the US.
In Paris, demonstrators, largely American, gathered around Place de la République to protest against the US president, with many waving banners that read “Resist tyrant”, “Rule of law”, “Feminists for freedom not fascism” and “Save Democracy”. Crowds in London gathered in Trafalgar Square earlier on Saturday with banners that read “No to Maga hate” and “Dump Trump”. Protesters also gathered in Lisbon, Portugal.
The protests come after the stock market plummeted this week following Trump’s announcement on Wednesday of tariffs. Despite the economic fallout, Trump said on Friday: “My policies will never change.”
Trump’s approval rating this week fell to 43 per cent, his lowest since taking office, according to a Reuters poll.
After Trump was first elected to the White House in 2016, at least 470,000 people – three times the size of the crowd at Trump’s inauguration – joined the Women’s March protest in Washington DC, and millions more rallied around the country, making it the largest single-day protest in US history. – Guardian
