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Opponents from President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk gathered all over the United States on Saturday to protest the administration’s actions on government shrinking, economic, human rights and other issues.
The demonstration was planned by over 1,200 “Hands Off!” civil rights groups, labor unions, LBGTQ+ supporters, veterans and election activists. The protest sites included the National Mall in Washington, the State Capitol and other locations in all 50 states.
Protesters attacked the Trump administration’s move to fire thousands of federal workers, close the Social Security Agency’s field office, effectively shut down the entire agency, deport immigrants, reduce protections for transgender people, and cut federal funds for health programs.
Musk, an advisor to Trump, who owns Tesla, SpaceX and social media platform X, has played a key role in downsizing the government as head of efficiency for the newly created government. He says he’s saving taxpayers billions of dollars.
Kelly Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign advocacy group, spoke at the Washington protests, criticising the Trump administration’s treatment of the LBGTQ+ community.
“The attacks we see, they’re not political. They’re personal,” she said. “They are trying to ban our books, they are cutting funds for HIV prevention, they are criminalizing our doctors, our teachers, our families, our lives. This is Donald Trump’s America, and I don’t want it all. We don’t want this America.
Speaking at the Washington protests, Paul Osadeve, a lawyer for the U.S. Housing, Urban Development Agency and the union’s steward, criticised Trump, Musk and others in the administration for not evaluating the work federal employees do in creating a “baseline of economic security and power for workers.”
“Billionaires and oligarchs value nothing but profits and power. They are sure they don’t value you, your life or your community like hell,” he said. “And you know they don’t care who they have to destroy or who they have to hurt to get what they want.”
In Massachusetts, thousands of people “leave our democratic hands,” “leave our social security hands,” and “equitable inclusion of diversity will strengthen America.
In Ohio, hundreds of people gathered in rainy conditions at the state Capitol in Columbus.
Roger Bloom, 66, a retired Delaware County, Ohio, told the Columbus rally that he was once a Reagan Republican but was turned off by Trump.
“He’s tore this country apart,” Bloom said. “It’s just management of complaints.”
Hundreds of people spent their mornings at the club’s Senior Club Championship in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, miles from the Trump golf course in Jupiter. People lined up on either side of the PGA drive, encouraging cars to chant with slogans to the cards.
“They need to take their hands off our social security,” said Archer Moran of Port St. Lucie, Florida.
“The list of things they need to let go of is too long,” Moran said. “And it’s amazing how quickly these protests have happened since he took office.”
The president is scheduled to go golfing again on Sunday, according to the White House.
Asked about the protests, the White House said, “President Trump’s position was clear. He would always protect Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid for qualified beneficiaries. Meanwhile, the Democrats are giving Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare benefits to illegal foreigners who will bankrupt these programs and crush seniors in America.”
Activists have staged numerous nationwide demonstrations against Trump and Musk since Trump took office. However, the opposition movement has not yet produced the mass mobilization of women in March in 2017. This led to thousands of women taking to Washington, D.C., following Trump’s first inauguration ceremony, to demonstrate the issues of black life that exploded in multiple cities after George Floyd’s murder in 2020.
In Charlotte, North Carolina, protesters said they support a range of causes, from social security and education to immigration and women’s reproductive rights.
“What’s happening today, regardless of your party or whoever you voted for, is what’s happening today,” said Britt Castillo, 35, of Charlotte. “I hate it, and our current system may be broken. It’s the way the current administration is trying to fix things. It’s not a way to do that. They’re not listening to people.”
“All they’re doing is making sure they have parachutes for them and their rich friends, and everyone else living here will turn their gears towards this country – screwed at the end of the day,” she said.
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Associated Press author Julie Kerr Smith in Columbus, Ohio, and Fatima Hussein of West Palm Beach, Florida contributed to the report.
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