Thousands of people protested in Washington and other cities in the United States against the government
Julia Chaib – In the week marked by the announcement of a tariff to all countries, called “Liberation Day” by Donald Trump, the president faced some of the opposition gestures, both outside and within the most vigorous country since the beginning of his government three months ago.
This Saturday (5), thousands of people protested in Washington and other cities in the United States against the government, in the greatest acts of contestation to Trump since its return to power.
Signs where you read “below the oligarchy” and “fascism has come” were seen, in reference to Trump’s acts that try to expand the power of the executive.
A coalition composed of dozens of leftist groups, such as Moveon and Women’s March, summoned demonstrations under the motto “Hands Off” in more than a thousand American cities. In the capital, at least 5,000 gathered at National Mall near the White House.
The movement gained support from protesters in cities in Europe. There were acts in capitals such as Paris, Rome, London and Berlin.
About 200 pro-Palestinian organizations were part of the acts against the president’s offensive against students from universities who participated in anti-Israel demonstrations last year.
The government has already arrested at least three prestigious universities students on the charges (without evidence) that they support the terrorist group Hamas, and now tries to deport them.
Prior to the demonstrations, two events last week gave the Democrats, hitherto weakened in opposition. On Tuesday (1st), Trump and billionaire Elon Musk had a political defeat in Wisconsin. Conservative judge Brad Schimel lost to progressive Susan Crawford, who was elected to join the state’s supreme court.
The defeat occurred even after the X owner invests more than $ 20 million and personally acting in the dispute. Although apartidal, in practice, the election was from Republicans against Democrats. More than keeping the progressive majority of 4 to 3 in force in the court, the election gave signs of dissatisfaction against Trump-which won the presidential race in this pool state, one of the most decisive to reach the White House.
Behind is the expectation of Democrats to be able to do well in the middle elections in 2026 and change the composition in Congress. Today, Republicans have a tight majority in the House and Senate.
Another gesture that drew attention in the week was that of Democratic Senator Cory Booker, 55, who spoke for more than 25 hours against Trump, breaking the longest speech record in the Senate pod by a single speaker.
Columbia’s political science teacher, Robert Shapiro, states that the size of this Saturday’s acts may be an indication that the opposition has room to gain body.
“We will have to see how this unfolds. The elections on Tuesday [em Wisconsin] They show that there is a growing opposition, with anger against the Republicans, ”he says.“ The main thing to observe is the effect of tariffs.
Trump came in saying that he would improve the economy, make people’s lives better than ever. And the first thing he did was impose tariffs that, by all signs, will basically devastate the economy. ”
Trump’s attitude cost a secular relationship with one of the biggest allies in the US. Canada Prime Minister Mark Meatary said in late March that Canada needs to rethink and reshape her economy and seek “reliable” business partners.
“The old relationship we had with the United States, based on the increasingly deep integration of our economy and the close cooperation in security and military, is over,” said the prime minister.
Tariffs are also the first theme to give rise to an apparent union of a Republican wing with Democrats in Congress. This week, Deputy Don Bacon of Nebraska said he planned to present a bill for Congress to give the final word on commercial fees. It is the first republican to challenge Trump publicly.
The measures, however, have not yet been enough to make a big impact on Trump’s popularity, but it has been giving signs of fall. Reuters/Ipsos survey released this week pointed out that the Republican’s approval rate fell to 43%, the lowest since his return to office. In January, two days after inauguration, 47% of Americans approved the president. The research was conducted after the scandal of leakage of confidential messages to a journalist about attacks on Yemen.
This week, a Pew Research survey showed that seven out of ten adults in the US says they have been following the news about government stocks and initiatives a lot (31%) or reasonably (40%) closely. Two thirds of this group say they do so because they are concerned about the president’s acts.
The most effective opposition against the government has so far has parties of the courts, against which Trump is in open conflict, through decisions suspending the president’s decrees. This week, 19 states sued Trump against the last week’s decree in which he demands proof of citizenship so that the person is able to vote in the elections.
