Hundreds of anti-Trump protesters crowded around Los Angeles City Hall on Monday morning, using the Presidents Day holiday to challenge the current commander in chief as part of a nationwide Not My President’s Day rally.
The holiday, which honors previous presidents, was what organizers called an ideal opportunity for the public to demonstrate against President Donald Trump and his policies, which they say are in contrast with America’s values.
• RELATED PHOTOS: Not My President’s Day rally at LA City Hall
They cited Trump’s push to build a wall along the Mexican border, his hard-line stance against illegal immigration, his executive order to temporarily ban nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries as well as his approval of the Dakota Access pipeline, which Native Americans say violates peace treaties and contaminates sacred waters on their land, as some of the concerns many said they had with the 45th president.
“I’m against everything Trump,” said Larry Caballero, a 71-year-old teacher from Orange County who took Uber to the downtown Los Angeles rally. “There’s nothing Trump has done that I am happy with.”
Despite a damp morning in the wake of an L.A. deluge, crowds gathered on the steps of City Hall with homemade signs, some of which read: “No ban. No Wall. California welcomes all,” and “Not My President.”
Drummers also led crowds into rhythmic chants of “Love! Not hate! Makes America great!” and “A people, united will never be divided!”
Monday’s rally followed a string of protests held since Trump was elected, including a Free the People march in Los Angeles on Saturday in support of immigrant rights and an I Am Muslim Too demonstration in New York City on Sunday.
New York, Chicago, Portland and other cities held Not My President’s Day rallies as well.
At 11 a.m., protesters in Los Angeles were asked to Tweet out #notmypresident in unity with those around the country.
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For his part, Trump made no mention of the rallies on his personal Twitter account, writing in all caps: “HAPPY PRESIDENT’S DAY-MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
At least 4,000 people signed up to attend the Los Angeles rally, according to the event’s Facebook page, but the crowd appeared smaller, observers noted. The event was peaceful and no arrests were made, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
But at one point, the crowds at the rally had swelled so much that organizers moved to the south lawn side of City Hall to accommodate everyone.
That’s where 15-year-old Allyson Roche stood on the stairs holding a sign in support of U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Warren, D-Mass., has spoken out against former Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., the Trump administration’s new attorney general. Allyson said she hopes Warren will run for president in 2020, when she’ll be old enough to vote.
“I feel like the president has oppressed so many people,” said Allyson, who is a student at Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks. She said politics is discussed more in her classrooms, but not too much “because it can lead to arguments.”
William P. Gonzalez, a 71-year-old Vietnam veteran, held up a sign with Trump’s image and words around it that read: “We the people are not the problem.’ Gonzalez said he opposes Trump’s rhetoric on illegal immigrants, especially Mexican people.
“He’s unjust. He has no heart. He’s a racist,” said Gonzalez, who wore a Vietnam Veteran pin on his jacket. “Many Mexicans fought in Vietnam and carry a Medal of Honor. They’re not criminals.”
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Leigh O’Bryan, 44, of Sherman Oaks said she missed the massive Women’s March in January, so she felt compelled to join Monday’s rally to express her concerns about Scott Pruitt, the Trump administration’s new head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
“I think he’s going to be a disaster for the environment and animals,” O’Bryan said.
University of La Verne student Kendra Craighead said she knows she’s living in interesting times. The 23-year-old will be graduating in the fall with degrees in journalism and creative writing.
Last week, Trump deemed the media “the enemy of the American people.” Craighead attended the rally as part of an assignment and said she tries to hear both sides of why people support and oppose Trump. Her parents are Republicans but she isn’t. Not all who supported Trump, are racists, she added.
“I think people need to listen to each other, to understand why people are out here, why they’re angry,” she said.
Randy Economy, who was part of the Trump for America campaign in California, wasn’t at the rally but said if he had been, he would have asked protestors: “If Donald Trump is not your president then who is your president?”
“He’s all of our president. That’s our reality,” Economy said. “Has Donald Trump started out perfectly? Absolutely not. But at least he’s trying to do what he said he would do. We’re in the midst of a new style of politics and that’s being filtered down to the local level. If people can get involved in local issues then that’s a positive.”
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