New York: Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of major US cities to oppose the policies of President Donald Trump.
In what was the largest demonstrations since the beginning of his second term in the White House, those who are against the American President’s policies such as federal job cuts, trade tariffs and eroding civil liberties rallied in Washington DC, New York, Houston, Boston, Florida, Colorado, Chicago, Los Angeles and other locations, reported AFP.
In the nation’s capital Washington DC, thousands of demonstrators, many of who travelled from across the country, gathered on the National Mall, just blocks from the White House, where dozens of speakers rallied opposition to Trump.
Thousands of protesters gathered in Washington, D.C., and across the US as part of some 1,200 demonstrations that were expected to form the largest single day of protest against President Donald Trump and his billionaire ally Elon Musk https://t.co/s2EhF3c6SQ pic.twitter.com/B5SJoGT8vM
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 5, 2025
“We have about 100 people who have come down by bus and van from New Hampshire to protest against this outrageous administration (that) is causing us to lose our allies across the world, and causing devastation to people here at home,” said Diane Kolifrath, 64, a bike tour guide.
“They’re gutting our government.”
Those who had gathered heard speakers including Representative Jamie Raskin, a Democrat who served as impeachment manager during Trump’s second impeachment.
“No moral person wants an economy-crashing dictator who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing,” he told the crowd.
‘They’ve woken up a sleeping giant’
Activist Graylan Hagler also addressed the protest. “They’ve woken up a sleeping giant, and they haven’t seen nothing yet. We will not sit down, we will not be quiet, and we will not go away.”
New York painter Shaina Kesner joined a crowd marching through the heart of Manhattan, said: “I am so angry, I’m so mad, all the time, yes. A bunch of privileged, white alleged rapists are controlling our country. It’s not great,” she said.
“It’s economic lunacy… He is going to push us into a global recession,” screamed one protester.
HAPPENING NOW: A MASSIVE protest is taking place in downtown Chicago for the “Hands Off!” movement against Elon Musk and Donald Trump pic.twitter.com/NVEiTFi8Iy
— Marco Foster (@MarcoFoster_) April 5, 2025
A woman in Los Angeles dressed as a character from the novel ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ waved a flag with the message: ‘Get out of my uterus’ — a reference to Trump’s anti-abortion policies.
One man In Denver, Colorado, held up a placard stating — ‘No king for USA’.
“We’re out here to stop the fascism. We’re stopping a leader from… jailing his opponents, stopping him from jailing just random people, immigrants,” said a protester in Boston.
HAPPENING NOW: An aerial view of the MASSIVE protest today in Boston, MA for the “Hands Off!” movement against Elon Musk and Donald Trump pic.twitter.com/0OZgQ2HfHW
— Marco Foster (@MarcoFoster_) April 5, 2025
Placards & Banners Reflect People’s Moods
Most of the demonstrations were themed ‘Hands Off!’ with the protesters carrying placards, banners and banners which reflected their anger and frustration.
‘He’s a lunatic’, read one banner.
‘Alexa, get us a new President’, screamed a placard, while others read ‘For Sale: Democracy’, ‘Pro America Anti Trump’, ‘Stop the Coup’, ‘Trump get some therapy and leave us alone’, ‘Dump Adolf Shitler’, ‘Resist Authoritarianism’.
Elon Musk was not spared either. Some of the telling banners against the tech billionaire, who heads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), read – ‘NO KINGS NO (F)ELONS’, ‘Fight Olifarchy’.
Protests extend to Europe
There were rallies in some major European cities as well.
“What’s happening in America is everyone’s problem,” said Liz Chamberlin, a dual US-British citizen, told AFP at a London rally.
In Berlin, 70-year-old retiree Susanne Fest said Trump is “a lunatic”, and has created “a constitutional crisis.”
