President Donald Trump’s return to office has prompted a wide variety of reactions from people, and some of the prominent reactions have been those of resistance to his policies:
On April 5, coordinated protests were held against the Trump administration’s attacks on federal agencies, social programs, LGBTQ+ people, immigrants, education, health care, science, free speech, reproductive rights and more. The protests, led by a coalition of over 150 partner organizations, were the largest demonstrations since President Trump’s return to office, with over 3 million protesters gathering at over 1,400 locations across the country.
Senator Cory Booker’s 25 hour speech
On March 30, Sen. Cory Booker (alongside fellow Democrats who gave him a break from speaking) of New Jersey stood on the Senate floor and delivered a speech criticizing the Trump administration’s policies for 25 hours and 5 minutes straight, breaking a record set 68 years ago by an attempt to filibuster the advance of the Civil Rights Act in 1957. By defeating the record set by a segregationist and by uplifting the stories of Americans harmed by what he called the Trump Administration’s “reckless actions and disregard for the rule of law,” Sen. Booker aimed to inspire hope and to call on all Americans to respondwith resistance to Trump’s actions and kindness to those affected.
This year, the May Day, or International Workers’ Day protests, have been reframed by their organizers as pushback against what they see as the administration’s sweeping assault on labor protections, diversity initiatives and federal employees. Prominent protests were held throughout the United States, as well as in Japan and Turkey.
The organization Indivisible, alongside a coalition of pro-democracy partner organizations, have announced the “NO KINGS Nationwide Day of Defiance” on Flag Day, June 14. Protests have already been coordinated in over 100 locations throughout the country, with the organizers insisting that President Trump’s military parade will not be the center of attention, as activists will make their actions everywhere else the story of America that day.
