Something truly extraordinary happened on Saturday.

All across the country, everyday Americans joined together in an unprecedented day of action to oppose the Trump regime. Large numbers of people turned out in every state, in big cities and small towns, in urban centers and rural areas to reject Trump, Musk, autocracy, and oligarchy.

When it was all said and done, over a million people had participated in some 1,300 Hands Off! rallies in all 50 states — from New York to Seattle and from Tupelo, Mississippi to Mitchell, South Dakota — in Washington, D.C., and even in other countries (including Canada, Portugal, Germany, and Greece).

In D.C. — where Public Citizen is headquartered — we had over 100,000 people gathered at the Washington Monument. (For those who don’t live in D.C., the monument is just across a broad, busy street from the grounds of the White House. The name of that street, fittingly, is Constitution Avenue.)

I had the privilege to address that beautiful crowd on Saturday:

“We are living under the most lawless, Constitution-trampling administration in American history. ... There is only one thing that’s enough to face down this authoritarian moment, and that is this movement here today!”

Watch my full remarks at the rally in Washington, D.C.

People sometimes wonder if demonstrations and protests make a difference. They make all the difference. Here’s why:

• Trump, like other authoritarians, aims to invoke fear and isolate people. When we come together in large numbers, we overcome our fear, find our courage, and feel viscerally that we are a majority.

• Trump and his henchmen have very intentionally tried to create an air of invincibility around their actions, to project dominance and cultivate hopelessness. When we’re together in large numbers, we discover hope, feel our power, and build real power.

• If you’ve been frustrated with how Democratic leaders have (or have not) been responding to the Trump bulldozer, nothing is more important than these demonstrations, which will stiffen Democrats’ spines.

• More generally, the entire political conversation around Trump will never be the same. We’ve started to take back control of the political narrative.

• The massive Hands Off! demonstrations will inspire more and more Americans to join the movement against Trump. And that — experience around the world has taught us — is how you beat authoritarianism.

Public Citizen is very proud to have served as one of the leading groups that organized this incredible nationwide day of action.

And we are not about to stop there.

We have filed numerous lawsuits against the Trump/Musk/DOGE/MAGA onslaught. Stay tuned for ongoing updates (sometimes the legal system moves slowly, sometimes it moves very suddenly).

Another nationwide day of action is in the works for May 1 (May Day). We’ll let you know more about this and other mobilizations in the weeks ahead.

We appreciate anything you can chip in if a donation is right for you. (If donating is not a good fit right now, we get it.)

Thank you for being part of this shared project called Public Citizen and the work we’re doing together to stand up to Donald Trump, Elon Musk, the billionaire class, and their MAGA puppets in politics.

For progress,

- Robert Weissman, Co-President of Public Citizen
 
 
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