Photo Credit // ABC 7 NY
“The people united will never be defeated,” echoed across Midtown as thousands of New Yorkers marched in protest of President Trump and his right-hand man, Elon Musk.
The “Hands Off!” rallies that took place on April 5, from New York to Alaska, were powerful demonstrations of how upset and fed-up many Americans have felt since Trump took office.
During his second presidential campaign, Trump promised big changes, and he kept this promise by signing over 100 executive orders since his inauguration on January 20. With the mass firing of government workers and DEI hires, his strict immigration policies and ICE raid rampages, and his infamous “Banned Words List,” Americans all over are feeling the effects of his term.
Elon Musk, the multi-billionaire owner of SpaceX, Tesla, and X, has been acting as the unofficial leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has angered many. “Elon Musk is not an elected official and should be treated that way,” says one tenth grader, Cora Reily, who attended the recent protest in NYC. DOGE, which, despite its name, is not an official government department, has been dealing with monetary issues, often cutting out funding they deem unnecessary, as well as handling data from different government agencies.
Many Americans have felt threatened by Musk’s sudden desire to have control and oversee millions of people’s private information and data. According to Laurel Wamsley, on her episode of All Things Considered on NPR titled “The government already knows a lot about you. DOGE is trying to access all of it”, one “coalition of unions and retirees have filed a lawsuit aiming to halt DOGE’s access to SSA [Social Security Administration] data.” Some Americans are becoming more and more worried about what DOGE might use their data for and how well their information is being kept private and safe.
Additionally, these protests came right after a significant economic dip after Trump implemented his tariffs, effectively taxing the import of goods from all over the world, including China, Mexico, Canada, and Argentina. This has worried some Americans about the tariff’s effect on the prices of the goods they buy, eggs being the most commonly thought of.
Even with all of the people who did attend these protests, there were still many others who may not have been able to attend but still feel this same way. Becca Levy, commonly known at Clinton as Ms. Levy, the 10th grade Government and Economics teacher, shares many of the same opinions despite not being able to attend one of the protests. She feels that Trump and Musk’s relationship “is a real-life depiction of the oligarchy that our country has been for since the beginning.” She understands the power that Musk holds, even as a non-elected official, just by being that close to President Trump. Many of his decisions are driven by his own money-making desires, which often overlook the working class and only help the elite “one-percenters”.
These protests were about showing the power of the people. Even though demonstrations like these can often get dismissed, it is important to remember that change can start small. Another tenth grader, Ella Van Es, who attended the protest, says that she “found it important to demonstrate to the world just how many people stand against Trump.”
Without demonstrations like these, it is easy to feel isolated or alone, especially if you are not around people with the same perspective. The “Hands Off!” rallies were a much-needed reminder that we still have our First Amendment, and it is important to use it.
