'Hands off', 1,200 anti-Trump protests across the US

"Hands off' is the slogan of the largest anti-Trump and anti-Musk protest in the US and around the world since The Donald returned to the White House. More than 1,200 demonstrations were organised in the 50 US states and Washington, while various forms of protest were staged in various foreign countries, from Canada to Mexico, from Germany to France, from Great Britain to Portugal and Italy, with initiatives in London, Paris and Rome, among others.

The protests touched various American cities, from New York to Boston, from San Francisco to Portland, from Los Angeles to the southern states that have always been Republican fiefdoms. But the epicentre was Washington, where thousands of activists gathered on the National Mall under the Washington Monument, a stone's throw from the White House. A colourful crowd of all ages and with original slogans, as if after so long the lost Dem people had found strength and creativity for 'resistance', as one of the signs in the shadow of the obelisk reads. "Wake up and smell the coup", "Trump golfs while USA burns", "Aren't you tariffed?" are some of the slogans. Many warn to 'keep your hands off' democracy, healthcare and everything else that has come into the crosshairs of Trump and Musk, depicted in the signs as two Nazis.

The numbers do not seem record-breaking, as was the case with the women's march in 2017 that brought around half a million people to the US capital shortly after the tycoon was first sworn in. So far in the US the protests have been isolated and minor in tone, but anger is growing after the indiscriminate cuts in government spending, the squeeze on rights and freedoms, as well as the tariffs that - according to many economists - risk raising the cost of living. Moves that this week caused the president's approval rating to plummet to 43%, the lowest percentage since he took office. Thousands of activists arrived on the Mall, unloaded by dozens of buses from various US states. Several Dem MPs are also present, holding mini rallies: Jamie Raskin, Maxwell Frost and Ilhan Omar.

"This is shaping up to be the largest single-day protest in recent years in American history," said Ezra Levin, founder of Indivisible, one of the groups planning the event. In the crosshairs was the president's authoritarian agenda, supported by an oligarchy of billionaires. "This," he added, "is a huge demonstration that is sending a very clear message to Trump, Musk, the Republicans in Congress and all the allies of the Maga movement: we don't want them to get their hands on our democracy, our communities, our schools, our friends and our neighbours."

This is a "national mobilisation to stop the most brazen power grab in modern history," the organisers explained. "Trump, Musk and their billionaire cronies are orchestrating an all-out assault on our government, our economy and our basic rights, facilitated by Congress every step of the way. They want to tear America apart, closing Social Security offices, laying off essential workers, eliminating consumer protections, and gutting Medicaid, all to fund their billion-dollar tax scam," they charged, referring to the maxi-tax cuts of the first Trump presidency that the tycoon now wants to extend.