Protests against Trump erupt nationwide

These marches have offered an 'unavoidable illustration of outrage'

(Image credit: Joseph Prezioso / Getty Images)

published 14 April 2025

"You can stop asking where the mass opposition is," said Tim Murphy in Mother Jones. "It's everywhere." Hundreds of thousands of people protested against the Trump administration last week at a nationwide action called "Hands Off!" Organized by an array of progressive groups, the rallies were held in major cities and small towns alike, across all 50 states. Manhattan's march stretched nearly 20 blocks, while in tiny Madras, Ore., a town that President Trump won by 30 points last year, over 100 people gathered. Demonstrators carried signs denouncing Elon Musk, Trump's tariffs, the threat to Social Security, and the assault on the rule of law. "TURD REICH NO!" read one poster. "Down with DOGEbags," proclaimed another. It's refreshing to see Americans rise up, given that there wasn't a mass protest after Trump's second inauguration to rival the Women's March that took place after his first. Resignation seemed to reign as politicians and business leaders bowed and scraped. But these marches have "punctured that delusion," offering "an unavoidable illustration of outrage."

These ho-hum protests starred "the usual suspects" — white liberals trumpeting pet causes, said Noah Rothman in National Review. Rather than joining in, newly outraged Trump voters may find themselves "unnerved by the alternative to Trumpian chaos." Some protesters, for example, waved Palestinian flags and yelled about Israel, "which probably seemed quite beside the point" to someone worried about their 401(k). Still, maybe Democrats don't need to evolve. They could win a chance at power simply "because Republicans blew theirs."

Yet there's also "a different kind of anti-Trump resistance" brewing, said Micah L. Sifry in The New York Times. It won't come from politicians, even if Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) made a "heroic effort" with his stirring, 25-hour anti-Trump speech last week. Instead, keep an eye on federal workers. They're largely moderates, and almost 30 percent are veterans. By firing them en masse, Trump is "radicalizing the very people" who can explain what we all lose by eviscerating government services. Now Democrats need to drive home that message, said Jill Lawrence in The Bulwark, by offering a program of renewal "that taps into the anger and longing to once again be the respect-worthy America." Trump's actions are hurting everyone from veterans to retirees to business owners and students. There are millions of Americans "coping with illness or job loss, millions passionate about science or education or the Constitution or the law"—all the things Trumpism is destroying. Reach them, and you have a movement.