Donald Trump’s first term as president was marked by immediate and fierce protests pushing back against his anti-immigrant policies and stated goal of overturning Roe v. Wade.
The beginning of Trump’s second term has seen less resistance — until now.
On Saturday, thousands of East Bay residents gathered in Berkeley, Oakland and other cities to rally in the “Hands Off!” protests.
More than 1,200 “Hands Off!” rallies were planned across the country to condemn Trump’s efforts — spearheaded by billionaire Elon Musk — to gut government agencies, lay off thousands of federal workers, and seek massive new tax cuts that could imperil health and social insurance programs millions of Americans rely on.
The rallies have pulled together a coalition of people also concerned about Trump’s cuts to federal funding for universities, steps to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs, attempts to punish schools and companies that maintain diversity efforts, as well as book bans. Many attendees denounced Trump’s mass deportation program — including in some cases legal residents and people targeted because of their First Amendment activities.
Several thousand people were at the rally in Oakland when it began at 1 p.m. The crowd included people of all ages, including retirees, youth, lots of union members and civic groups like the League of Women Voters.
One protester, San Pablo resident Anna Villalobos, was a postal worker for 38 years in Oakland. She said she came to the rally because Trump has been going after the postal service and wants to privatize it. She wants to save her pension and social security and benefits for other retired federal employees.
“The postal service is not for profit, it’s for service,” she said.
Maret Bartlett, an Oakland resident, works part-time for the Peralta community colleges. She feels that Trump’s moves to dismantle the government and other policies are illegal. “I absolutely loathed the first trump term, but this is even worse,” Bartlett said. Several of her friends work for the federal government and some have been fired “willy nilly.”
Organizers of the Oakland rally said they plan to march to Oakland’s federal building to speak out against the Trump administration’s desires to open a new immigration detention facility at the now-shuttered federal women’s prison in Dublin.
Hundreds of people showed up at North Berkeley BART around 1 p.m., lining up along the sidewalks with protest signs expressing opposition to a range of Trump policies.
Terry White, 68, a realtor who lives in Richmond, said she was protesting because she feels a need to defend immigrants. “There’s just so much happening politically that shouldn’t be and the only way that we are going to fight it is our voices,” she said. White added that her son was a federal worker in southern California who was recently let go in the mass layoffs and her daughter is worried about losing her job at UC Berkeley.
Another protester, Odile, who is originally from France and used to work in caregiving for Alzheimer’s patients, said she’s concerned that voters won’t get a say in the next election. “I want to defend democracy and I think it’s not good if only one person is choosing for us.”
Several drummers played a soundtrack at the Berkeley rally and many attendees flew upside-down American flags, signs of distress.
Members of Richmond Indivisible gathered last week to make signs to hold at Hands Off! protests Saturday. Most planned to attend the Oakland rally, although a few planned to go to San Pablo, according to a spokesperson. Noelle Thomas’s sign read “Just say No,” and included an image of a swastika. Thomas said she chose a swastika symbol because of the “very disturbing parallels with fascism in the U.S. today.”
“This mass mobilization day is our message to the world that we do not consent to the destruction of our government and our economy for the benefit of Trump and his billionaire allies,” according to a statement from Indivisible.
Pete McElligott, who is retired and lives near El Cerrito, and who played a key role in establishing Berkeley’s tool lending library, said he’s been protesting since the Free Speech Movement in the 1960s.
McElligott said Trump makes him want to puke and he’s concerned about Republican’s plans for social security. He’s also concerned about his daughter, who has to pay back her student loans for nursing school.
Darwin BondGraham and Tracey Taylor contributed to this story.
