Trump’s policies trigger protests in US, Europe
• Over 1,200 rallies planned to give Trump’s opponents an opportunity to register their resentment
• Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has eliminated 200,000 out of 2.3m federal jobs
WASHINGTON: Thousands streamed into downtown Washington on Saturday as protests got underway against efforts by President Donald Trump and his billionaire ally Elon Musk to overhaul government and expand presidential authority.
Organisers said more than 20,000 people attended the rally at Washington’s National Mall.
Over 1,200 demonstrations were planned across the United States in what organisers expect to be the largest single day of protest which will give Trump’s opponents an opportunity to demonstrate their displeasure en masse in response to a raft of executive orders.
Some 150 activist groups have signed up to participate, according to the event’s website. Protests were planned in all 50 states plus Canada and Mexico.
Protesters were lining the busy thoroughfare of Connecticut Avenue in Washington under gloomy skies and light rain, awaiting buses to take them downtown. They carried signs with slogans such as “No Kings in the USA” and “Deport Musk”.
Terry Klein, a retired biomedical scientist from Princeton, New Jersey, was among hundreds who gathered early in front of the stage below the Washington Monument.
She said she drove down to attend the rally to protest Trump’s policies on everything from immigration to the DOGE stuff to the tariffs this week, to education. “I mean, our whole country is under attack, all of our institutions, all the things that make America what it is.”
David Madden, a 75-year old army veteran and retired trial lawyer, said he flew from Dayton, Ohio, to demonstrate against the injustice that is dominating this country, the institutions that are being stolen from the American people, the confusion in the courts, the fact that “we have a population that I believe is essentially racist”.
With President Trump’s blessing, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency team has scythed through the US government, eliminating more than 200,000 jobs from the 2.3 million federal work force. At times, the effort has been haphazard and forced the recall of needed specialists.
On Friday, the Internal Revenue Service began laying off more than 20,000 workers, as much as 25 per cent of its ranks.
Social security top target
Several hundred people gathered on Saturday outside the headquarters of the Social Security Administration, a top DOGE target, near Baltimore to protest against cuts to the agency which delivers benefits to the elderly and disabled.
The mood was angry and defiant, after the agency recently announced cuts of 7,000 staff and the ending of phone services to millions of claimants.
Members of DOGE have been inside the building for weeks. Many in the crowd of mostly retirees held handmade signs, including Where Has My Country Gone?, FIRE DOGE!, Send Musk to Mars, and Hands off Social Security.
Linda Falcao, who turns 65 in two months, told the crowd she had been paying into the Social Security fund since the age of 16.
“I’m terrified, I’m angry, I’m bewildered this could happen to the United States,” she said. “I do love America and I’m heartbroken. I need my money. I want my money. I want my benefits.”
In response, the crowd chanted, “It’s our money.”
White House assistant press secretary Liz Huston disputed the protesters’ charge that Trump aimed to cut Social Security and Medicaid.
“President Trump’s position is clear: he will always protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid for eligible beneficiaries.
“The Democrats’ stance is giving Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare benefits to illegal aliens, which will bankrupt these programmes and crush American seniors,” Huston said in an email.
Much of Donald Trump’s agenda has been restrained by lawsuits contending he has overstepped his authority with attempts to fire civil servants, deport immigrants and reverse transgender rights.
Trump returned to office on Jan 20 with a stream of executive orders and other measures critics say are aligned with an agenda outlined by Project 2025, a deeply conservative political initiative to reshape government and consolidate presidential authority.
His supporters have applauded Trump’s audacity as necessary to disrupt entrenched liberal interests.
Demos in Europe
Hours before the protests kicked off in the United States, hundreds of anti-Trump Americans living in Europe gathered in Berlin, Frankfurt, Paris and London to voice opposition to the sweeping makeover of US foreign and domestic policies.
About 200 people, mostly American, gathered on Paris’s Place de la Republique, listening to speeches and waving banners ranging from “Resist Tyrant”, “Rule of Law” to “Feminists for Freedom not fascism” and “Save Democracy”.
“We have to show solidarity with all the demonstrations in a thousand cities today in the USA,” Democrats Abroad spokesperson Timothy Kautz said in Frankfurt. Protester Jose Sanchez said Trump was a con man who was destroying democracy.
Published in Dawn, April 6th, 2025