'Hands off!' anti-Trump protests try to reach the newly alarmed

Washington: Opponents of President Donald Trump held protests around the country Saturday to oppose the president's slash-and-burn attack on federal health care programs, government workers and the rule of law, a message that they say appeals to a politically diverse set of Americans.

The "Hands Off!" mass action was organized by Indivisible, MoveOn and several other groups that led protests about abortion rights, gun violence and racial justice during the first Trump administration. But organizers said they worked with 150 local, state and national partners to emphasize their message: Trump is threatening health care, Social Security and education, making life harder for the average American, while benefiting his richest friends.

"We need to bring in new people, and that's where Trump's policies are so consequential," said Britt Jacovich, a spokesperson for MoveOn.

Longtime Trump opponents are reexamining the huge protest movements, including the Women's March on Washington, that defined his first stint in office. The demonstrations minted new generations of activists and helped the Democrats retake the House in 2018, but they did not protect Roe v. Wade or compel Congress to pass police reform legislation. And in the end, Trump came roaring back in November and won the election.

"The protests were effective in the short term, but in the longer term, unless there is some kind of resounding defeat politically, movements like Trump's are able to reconstitute and, in this case, win," said Erica Chenoweth, a political scientist who studies social movements and nonviolent resistance.

Some 500,000 people signed up to participate in Saturday's marches in all 50 states, with a marquee rally on the National Mall in Washington. Protests also took place in a number of foreign cities.

Indivisible groups have hosted 150 town halls in Republican House districts. Many who attended were worried that Social Security and Medicaid were next on the chopping block. Concerned about the economic outlook, including rising costs for housing and food, they wanted to know why billionaire Elon Musk was overseeing the government overhaul.

Elections in Florida and Wisconsin on Tuesday gave Democrats hope. In Florida, Republicans won two House seats by slimmer-than-expected margins. And a liberal judge won election to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. A variety of polls show that Trump's approval rating has dropped.

But the Trump administration's deportations, investigations and university funding cuts have helped subdue dissent.

"You want the whole country involved in a protest, people in surprising places," said Jason Stanley, a philosophy professor who recently quit his job at Yale and fled to the University of Toronto. He said that mass movements gain staying power when they garner support beyond protest-friendly environments like liberal cities and college campuses. "Everyone in a democracy has agency, but everyone has to feel like they have agency to use it," he said.