In a swell of grassroots fury, thousands of protesters flooded the streets in major US cities on Saturday, voicing their outrage and dread over Donald Trump’s re-election as president. From the shadow of New York’s Trump Tower to Seattle’s Space Needle, demonstrators railed against Trump’s pledges to restrict reproductive rights and unleash a wave of mass deportations.
New York City: Epicenter of Resistance
In the heart of Manhattan, a massive crowd besieged Trump International Hotel and Tower on 5th Avenue, the shimmering avatar of the president-elect’s polarizing brand. Demonstrators brandished signs with slogans like “We protect us” and posed pointed questions:
“Mr President, how long must women wait for liberty?”
Organized by a coalition of worker’s rights and immigrant justice groups, the NYC protesters chanted “Here we are and we’re not leaving!”, staking their claim to the city’s inclusive spirit in the face of Trumpism.
Washington DC: Rallying for Women’s Rights
Meanwhile in the nation’s capital, Women’s March participants amassed outside the conservative Heritage Foundation, the think tank credited with shaping Trump’s “Project 2025”. Their signs delivered an unambiguous message: “You are never alone” and “Well-behaved women don’t make history”.
Impassioned chants echoed through the autumn air: “We believe that we will win!” and “Where’s my liberty when I have no choice?” The specter of eroded reproductive freedoms under a second Trump term loomed large over the DC demonstrators.
Seattle: Stand Against Repression
On the opposite coast, a militant mood prevailed as protesters converged near Seattle’s iconic Space Needle. “March and rally to protest Trump and the two-party war machine,” declared posters plastered around the city. “Build the people’s movement and fight war, repression and genocide!”
Clad in raincoats and keffiyehs, the Seattle crowd listened intently as a speaker condemned “any president that has come to power” for letting workers down. The allusion to Trump’s pseudo-populism rang out clear.
Protests Span the Nation
Portland and Pittsburgh also saw anti-Trump mobilizations on Friday, underscoring the geographic breadth of the resistance. Signs like “Fight fascism” and “My body, my choice” conveyed the sense of urgency and moral clarity propelling the protests.
“We are afraid of what’s coming, but we are not going to back down,”
– Steve Capri, Socialist Alternative organizer, to local media in Pittsburgh
For many protesters, Trump’s re-election represents an existential assault demanding mass opposition. “Trump is an attack on all of us,” Capri stressed, “so we need to unite, we need to get organized, join movements, study and learn together.”
A Movement Takes Shape
As Trump prepares to be sworn in for a second term, the nationwide actions this weekend offered a revealing glimpse into the budding resistance movement. Grassroots organizing around issues like reproductive justice and immigrant rights is translating into palpable street heat.
Whether the anti-Trump groundswell can coalesce into a sustained political force remains an open question. But the protesters’ resilience and clarity of purpose suggests the fight is just beginning. “We’ve been fighting for years for health, housing and education,” said Cody Urban of the International League of People’s Struggle in Portland. “And whether it was Trump, or Biden before this, we have not been getting it and we are wanting to push to actually get that realized.”
In the coming months and years, as Trump consolidates his agenda from the Oval Office, the battle lines drawn this weekend will be put to the test. For now, the message from the streets stands unequivocal: “We are not going back.”
Portland and Pittsburgh also saw anti-Trump mobilizations on Friday, underscoring the geographic breadth of the resistance. Signs like “Fight fascism” and “My body, my choice” conveyed the sense of urgency and moral clarity propelling the protests.
“We are afraid of what’s coming, but we are not going to back down,”
– Steve Capri, Socialist Alternative organizer, to local media in Pittsburgh
For many protesters, Trump’s re-election represents an existential assault demanding mass opposition. “Trump is an attack on all of us,” Capri stressed, “so we need to unite, we need to get organized, join movements, study and learn together.”
A Movement Takes Shape
As Trump prepares to be sworn in for a second term, the nationwide actions this weekend offered a revealing glimpse into the budding resistance movement. Grassroots organizing around issues like reproductive justice and immigrant rights is translating into palpable street heat.
Whether the anti-Trump groundswell can coalesce into a sustained political force remains an open question. But the protesters’ resilience and clarity of purpose suggests the fight is just beginning. “We’ve been fighting for years for health, housing and education,” said Cody Urban of the International League of People’s Struggle in Portland. “And whether it was Trump, or Biden before this, we have not been getting it and we are wanting to push to actually get that realized.”
In the coming months and years, as Trump consolidates his agenda from the Oval Office, the battle lines drawn this weekend will be put to the test. For now, the message from the streets stands unequivocal: “We are not going back.”
