Thousands of protesters rallied across the United States on Saturday in what became the largest coordinated opposition movement since President Donald Trump took office for a second term. Called “Hands Off!” demonstrations, the protests were held at over 1,200 locations in all 50 states, drawing crowds from diverse communities and supported by more than 150 organisations, including civil rights groups, labor unions, LGBTQ+ advocates, veterans and electoral reform activists.
From Midtown Manhattan to Anchorage, Alaska and in front of state capitols nationwide, demonstrators voiced their anger at the Trump administration’s sweeping reforms, particularly its aggressive government downsizing, immigration crackdowns and perceived rollbacks on civil and human rights. The rallies remained peaceful, with no immediate reports of arrests.
In Seattle, protesters gathered under the Space Needle, raising signs reading “Fight the oligarchy”, while in Los Angeles, demonstrators marched from Pershing Square to City Hall. Across the West Coast, chants echoed through the streets demanding justice and accountability.
Much of the outrage was directed at the administration’s moves to lay off thousands of federal employees, shut down Social Security field offices and scale back health and LGBTQ+ protections. Elon Musk, serving as the head of the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, was also a focal point of criticism for his role in the restructuring. Musk, who also leads Tesla, SpaceX and the social platform X, defended his actions by claiming they save taxpayers billions.
The White House responded to the protests with a statement saying that the President is committed to protect Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. It accused Democrats of proposing benefits for undocumented immigrants, which it claimed would “bankrupt these programs and crush American seniors”.
At a major rally in Washington, DC, Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson denounced the administration’s treatment of the LGBTQ+ community. “The attacks we’re seeing are not just political. They are personal,” she said. “We want an America where dignity, safety, and freedom belong to all of us.”
In Boston, where demonstrators held signs like “Hands off our democracy” and “Hands off our Social Security”, Mayor Michelle Wu addressed the crowd with emotion. “I refuse to accept that my children will grow up in a world where immigrants like their grandparents are automatically presumed to be criminals,” she said.
Roger Broom, 66, a retiree from Delaware County, Ohio, was one of hundreds who rallied at the Statehouse in Columbus. He said he used to be a Reagan Republican but has been turned off by Trump.
“He’s tearing this country apart,” Broom said. “It’s just an administration of grievances.” Hundreds of people also demonstrated in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, a few miles from Trump’s golf course in Jupiter, where he spent the morning at the club’s Senior Club Championship. People lined both sides of PGA Drive, encouraging cars to honk and chanting slogans against Trump.
“They need to keep their hands off of our Social Security,” said Archer Moran of Port St. Lucie, Florida.
“The list of what they need to keep their hands off of is too long,” Moran said. “And it’s amazing how soon these protests are happening since he’s taken office.” The president golfed in Florida Saturday and planned to do so again Sunday, the White House said.
Activists have staged nationwide demonstrations against Trump and Musk multiple times since Trump returned to office. But before Saturday the opposition movement had yet to produce a mass mobilization like the Women’s March in 2017, which brought thousands of women to Washington after Trump’s first inauguration, or the Black Lives Matter demonstrations that erupted in multiple cities after George Floyd’s killing by police in Minneapolis in 2020.
In Charlotte, North Carolina, protesters said they were supporting a variety of causes, from Social Security and education to immigration and women’s reproductive rights.
“Regardless of your party, regardless of who you voted for, what’s going on today, what’s happening today is abhorrent,” said Britt Castillo, 35, of Charlotte. “It’s disgusting, and as broken as our current system might be, the way that the current administration is going about trying to fix things — it is not the way to do it. They’re not listening to the people.” Among thousands marching through downtown San Jose, California, were Deborah and Douglas Doherty.
Deborah, a graphic designer, is a veteran of the 2017 Women’s March and was nervous that fewer people have turned out against Trump this time. “All the cities need to show up,” she said. “Now people are kind of numb to it, which is itself frightening.”
(With inputs from AP)