‘Hands Off!’ anti-Trump protests expected to draw thousands in Southern California today
Thousands of people rallied throughout Southern California on Saturday as part of a nationwide “Hands Off!” protests against the Trump administration’s steep cuts in federal programs, mass firings and a slew of tariff hikes that sent financial markets reeling.
Trump’s policies are ripping into the nation’s social safety and health nets and will lead to soaring prices on basic staples like groceries and cars, organizers say. Economic experts have warned that President Trump’s steep tariffs are a high-stakes gamble that risk throwing the U.S into a recession.
Dozens of protests and marches are planned throughout the region for what’s been dubbed “mass mobilization day.”
More than 1,200 “Hands Off!” demonstrations are planned by more than 150 groups, including civil rights organizations, labor unions, LBGTQ+ advocates, veterans and elections activists across the country. The protests are planned for the National Mall in Washington, D.C., state capitols and other locations in all 50 states.
At the Huntington Beach Pier, Sheila Hanrahan, 77, said he’s been attending protests since her 20s, including supporting women’s rights and voicing opposition to the Vietnam war.
Now, even with more back pain, she said, she felt it was important to attend today’s demonstration.
“I fear we’re losing our democracy,” she said. Hanrahan views the current administration as more dangerous than any previous one on civil rights.
In Pasadena, chants of “Hey hey, ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go!” and “Lock him up!” were met with car horns and cheers on the corner of Colorado Boulevard and Garfield Avenue.
Veteran Hector Alvarado, 71, drove to Pasadena from Flagstaff, Arizona to protest Trump’s cuts to veterans’ services. If enough people stand up to the administration, he believes, Trump will take notice.
Bruce Arnold of Pasadena held up a homemade sign that read, “Hey Elon. Three Reichs and You’re Out!” The sign was a reference to what many have interpreted to be a Nazi salute by Musk at a Trump inauguration rally in January.
Arnold, a 74-year-old, retired businessman, said he’s made all the calls and written all the letters he could to fight Trump’s policies.
“I can’t do anything else,” Arnold said. “As a Democrat, these last defeats have stung. The behavior of this man, the way he treats people, is just wrong.”
Steve and Natasha Prime of South Pasadena pulled two old T-shirts from their closet. Hers read, “Nasty Woman.” That’s what Trump called Hillary Clinton, his presidential race opponent in 2016.
Steve Prime, 63, said the protest is refreshing, because it lets him be with other people “who are fed up with the despicable chaos coming out. What else can we do right now? How does Trump get away with this over and over?”
Almost 1,000 Inland Empire residents lined Haven Avenue in Rancho Cucamonga carrying signs and demanding that Trump and billionaire advisor Elon Musk keep their “hands off” the programs they’re slashing.
Drivers in passing cars honked and gave the protesters a thumbs up. A few counterprotesters also drove by, with Trump flags waving in the back of their trucks.
In downtown Los Angeles, props at an evening protest will include a 20-foot-tall balloon depicting President Donald Trump wearing a diaper, and a 15-foot-tall helium-filled balloon of his likeness in a Russian military uniform.
“We’re barely two months into Trump’s chaos and the country is reeling from his reckless firing of millions of workers, the breaking up of tens of thousands of families, and plans to gut funding to our health care and Social Security,” organizer Emily Williams said in an interview this week.
“It doesn’t matter what your political party is, nearly everyone is being harmed by these punishing decisions and we’re here to oppose the destruction of these programs that millions of Americans rely on every day,” she said.
Thousands of protestors from across the South Bay joined in on the nationwide protests in front of Torrance City Hall along Torrance Boulevard. Some of the signs they held read “Good Trouble,” “Not going back,” and “Love Win.”
Speaking at the Washington protest, Paul Osadebe, a lawyer for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and a labor union steward, criticized Trump, billionaire advisor Elon Musk and others in the administration for not valuing the work federal employees do in creating “a baseline of economic security and power for working people.”
“Billionaires and oligarchs don’t value anything other than profit and power, and they sure as hell don’t value you or your life or your community,” he said. “And we’re seeing that they don’t care who they have to destroy or who they have to hurt to get what they want.”
Los Angeles County Republican Party Chairman Roxanne Hoge said the demonstrations will not affect the Trump administration.
“Radical leftists are protesting President Donald Trump with marches and a parade balloon?” she said. “Their boring, predictable tantrums are now part of the L.A. landscape, much like the dilapidated RVs and dangerous encampments that their policies result in. We are interested in good governance and public safety, and wish our Democrat friends would join us in advocating for both.”
Asked about the protests, the White House said in a statement that “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.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
The Associated Press and City News Service contributed to this report.
‘Hands Off’ anti-Trump protests planned across Southern California on April 5