NEW YORK: President Donald Trump is facing a fresh wave of protests across various cities in the United States as thousands hit the streets in opposition to his strict policies.
In New York, demonstrators gathered outside the city’s main library, brandishing signs aimed at the president with messages like “No Kings in America” and “Resist Tyranny.”
Many targeted Trump’s deportation practices, chanting “No ICE, no fear, immigrants are welcome here,” highlighting the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency’s role in apprehending migrants.
In Washington, D.C., protesters expressed worries that Trump is undermining essential constitutional principles, such as the right to due process.
Benjamin Douglas, 41, stated outside the White House, “This administration is making a direct assault on the rule of law and the belief that the government must not abuse the people living in the United States.”
Dressed in a keffiyeh and carrying a sign demanding the release of Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Palestinian student arrested the previous month, Douglas remarked that individuals are being targeted as “test cases to incite xenophobia and dismantle established legal safeguards.”
“We are facing serious danger,” said 73-year-old Kathy Valy, a protester from New York and daughter of Holocaust survivors. She remarked that their experiences of Adolf Hitler’s rise to power parallel current events. “The difference is that Trump is far less intelligent than Hitler or other fascists,” she criticized, adding, “He’s being manipulated… and his team is split.”
‘Science Ignored’
Daniella Butler, 26, aimed to highlight the government’s defunding of scientific and health initiatives.
As a PhD candidate in immunology at Johns Hopkins University, she carried a Texas map dotted with marks in reference to the current measles outbreak in the state.
Trump’s health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., known for his skepticism toward vaccines, has spent years promoting unproven claims linking the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine to autism.
In the deeply conservative state of Texas, the coastal city of Galveston hosted a small group of anti-Trump demonstrators.
On the West Coast, several hundred gathered on San Francisco’s beach to form the words “IMPEACH + REMOVE,” as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle.
Others in the area displayed an upside-down American flag, traditionally a symbol of distress.
Organizers aim to use growing dissatisfaction over Trump’s immigration policies, drastic budget cuts to government agencies, and pressure on universities, media, and law firms to create a sustained movement.
The primary organizer of the protests, the group known as 50501—a title representing 50 demonstrations across the 50 states—anticipated around 400 events for the day.
According to their website, the protests are “a decentralized rapid response to the anti-democratic and unlawful actions of the Trump administration and its wealthy allies” and emphasize non-violence in all demonstrations.
While the group aimed for millions to participate on Saturday, the turnout appeared lower compared to the earlier “Hands Off” protests that took place nationwide on April 5.
