Protesters rallied around the US against President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, seeking to defend the country from an administration they say threatens basic civil rights and calling for a halt to efforts to downsize the government.
More than 1,200 “Hands Off” demonstrations were planned for Saturday in all 50 states, the Associated Press reported. Organisers included civil rights groups, labor unions, LGBTQ advocates and veterans groups.
The rallies were some of the largest demonstrations of public opposition since Trump's second term kicked off in January. Thousands of people thronged downtown Boston with placards saying “Save our democracy” and “Hands off Social Security,” while protesters in New York marched down Fifth Avenue, photographs and video images showed.
Barbara McKenzie, 71, a retired concert pianist who attended a rally in Beaufort, North Carolina, said she was worried about issues such as women's health and US policy toward Ukraine and longtime European allies. She said mass cuts of federal employees by Musk's Department of Government Efficiency made her worry about veteran's health care and effective hurricane tracking.
“It gets down to life and death decisions for people,” McKenzie said. “We're all fired up and we're not taking it anymore.”
The White House, in a statement about the protests, said “President Trump's position is clear: He will always protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid for eligible beneficiaries. Meanwhile, the Democrats' stance is giving Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare benefits to illegal aliens, which will bankrupt these programs and crush American seniors.”
Hundreds of people protested a few miles from Trump's golf course in Florida, where he is spending the weekend.
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