Hundreds of protesters from in and outside of the Bay Area held a protest against President Donald J. Trump on Presidents’ Day in the Circle of Palms Plaza by the San José Museum of Art on Monday.
During the afternoon, protesters held up their signs to the air and chanted, “Elon has got to go,” while marching around the block through Market Street, San Fernando Street, First Street, past San José State’s Spartan Village on the Paseo and around Plaza de Cesar Chavez.
Angel, a resident from Watsonville and local organizer for FiftyFiftyOne, said she chose to organize the protest in San José because she wanted residents from different parts of Northern California to be able to join the protest.
Angel requested to not include her last name out of fear of being doxxed.
FiftyFiftyOne is a movement that started on Reddit where different protest groups from across the U.S. organize 50 protests in all 50 states in response to Trump’s recent policies, according to its website.
“I mean President's Day, that was obviously to make a little bit of a statement with (what) our current concerns are with the presidential administration,” Angel said. “So we're working together across the United States to make an impact.”
Presidents’ Day is held on the third Monday of February every year and celebrates the lives of all the U.S. presidents, according to a webpage from Britannica.
Angel said she does not see the protest as a disrespectful event towards the national holiday.
“This has entirely been a peaceful day. People are coming out here, and we're getting to share why we're out here (and) what issues we're bringing up. I don't think in any way it is disrespectful,” Angel said. “This is not necessarily just a left wing movement. This is a movement for the people. We have people involved who are conservative.”
Zia Steffen, a fourth-year public health student from California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo, said she was glad to see so many people come to the protest during a holiday.
They said the list of issues that are important to her are endless.
“I think this is so fucking important,” Steffen said. “I think it's important that we make a statement and this is the most power we have as just constituents and it's the most visible power we have.”
Steffen said the Trump’s administration’s cuts on funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the U.S. Department of Defense have made a huge impact on her life.
On Feb. 7, the National Institutes of Health announced it would only be willing to provide between 10% to 20% of funding for most programs, according to a statement from the agency.
Many universities could have major budget gaps because many medical centers and university programs relied on reimbursements from the federal government to pay for up to 60% or more of their expenses, according to a Monday article from Chicago Sun Times.
The Department of Government Efficiency is also planning to do an 8% cut from the U.S. Department of Defense’s budget for next year, according to a Friday article from NPR.
“I'm terrified (that) I’m not gonna be able to afford my tuition, even though I'm at a state school,” Steffen said. “All of our grants just got pulled . . . I don't know what we're doing next year . . . I'm worried I'm not gonna be able to pay my rent.”
Steffen said her university recently lost multiple grants from the National Institutes of Health and from the U.S. Department of Defense.
Jean Leonard, who has been a resident of San José since 1967, said she can’t walk far but she still felt it was important for her to come to the protest because she doesn’t like how much power Trump has given to Elon Musk.
Elon Musk is a tech billionaire who Trump hired to run the Department of Government Efficiency, according to a Monday article from the Washington Post.
“We didn't elect Elon Musk to do anything,” Leonard said. “And I just feel like all (Trump is) trying to do is make the rich richer and the poor poorer, is my opinion.”
Ash Kalra, a state assembly member who represents the 25th assembly district, said a lot of community members are feeling tension and anger. He also said as an elected official he won’t stop opposing Trump.
According to a memo sent to NPR on Tuesday by the U.S. Justice Department, state and local officials who do not cooperate with federal agents on increased immigration enforcement could face federal prosecution, according to a Jan. 22 article from NPR.
“It's very clear that Trump said he's going to target those elected officials that oppose him,” he said. “I'm not going to stop opposing him. I don't care if he puts me in jail or whatever he does.”
