SOME CARRIED SIGNS, others chanted slogans, and all had a message for President Donald Trump and Elon Musk: they’ve had enough of the executive orders and dismantling of government institutions being dispatched from Washington, D.C.
Across the nation on Saturday, tens of thousands of people took part in organized “Hands Off!” protests to condemn the administration. And in the heart of the liberal leaning Bay Area, which has seen some of the fiercest resistance, there were plenty eager to lend their voices to the cause.
In San Francisco, where thousands of people rallied in Civic Center Plaza, demonstrators held up signs and chanted together in opposition to Trump and Musk’s newly created Department of Government Efficiency firings of federal workers, cuts to federal programs, and DOGE gaining access to private data of Americans.
“Trump must go! Trump must go!” protesters yelled.
They also denounced Trump’s executive orders targeting immigration, gender identity, climate change, the economy and international trade relations.
“I am proud to be here and unfortunately that we need to be here,” said Beatrice Krivetsky, who was sitting in a wheelchair while she held a sign reading “Oppose the Immigration Crackdown.”
“I am proud to demonstrate and say out loud that we need the America we’re familiar with,” Krivetsky said. “I’m fighting for all the immigrants who have come here expecting a great a country.”
Some protesters and speakers held up signs and chanted slogans that called out what they perceive as a rise of fascism under the Trump administration.
“We either hang together or we hang separately,” said state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, in a speech at the rally. “We have to stay strong and not let these authoritarians get their way.”
“I am proud to be here and unfortunately that we need to be here. I am proud to demonstrate and say out loud that we need the America we’re familiar with. …” Beatrice Krivetsky, Hands Off protester
Alex U. Inn, a local drag king and LGBTQ+ rights activist, gave a speech that energized the massive crowd and emphasized the power of protest.
“We know the power of local action,” he said. “We know that change starts in our communities, in our neighborhoods, in our hearts. We know we can hold our elected officials accountable.”
“This is not an administration,” Inn said. “This is a freaking regime.” Other speakers condemned Trump’s spending cuts to federal programs like Medicaid, Social Security, scientific research and public education.
“These programs are not luxuries, they’re lifelines,” said Ciara Lovelace, a disabled woman who said she depends on federal programs like Medi-Cal, California’s version of Medicaid.
“Medi-Cal covers my wheelchair, walker and crutches. Without them I literally could not leave my house,” she said.
The demonstration also drew some counter-protesters, who were drowned out by the deafening chants of the thousands rallying against Trump and Musk.
“This is what democracy looks like!” protesters yelled. “We fight back!”
Oakland: Acting up, standing up, fighting back
The scene was quite similar across the Bay in Oakland, where thousands rallied in and around City Hall on Saturday afternoon, joined by local politicians, celebrities and labor leaders.
Oakland mayoral candidate and longtime East Bay politician Barbara Lee and TV personality W. Kamau Bell, an Oakland resident, were the closing speakers at the two-hour event in which activists and advocates fired up the packed crowd in Frank Ogawa Plaza to “act up,” “stand up” and “fight back” against Trump and billionaire Musk’s assaults on the U.S. government, economy and human rights.
“Labor stands with our immigrant workers. And, as a movement, we demand a Congress that serves the people, not the billionaires,” said Keith Brown of the Alameda County Labor Council. “Let’s embrace the power of worker and community solidarity.”
Demonstrators, primarily older people inside the plaza and many others outside on the lawn and near Broadway and Telegraph Avenue, carried signs with pithy messages, including “Trump Is Corrupt, Musk Is A Rat,” “Curb Your Doge,” “Stop Trump’s Dangerous Egotistical Illegal Agenda” and “Eat the Rich, Tastes Like Chicken.”
Livermore: Looking out for vulnerable populations
Meanwhile in Livermore, hundreds flocked to the Livermorium Plaza on South Livermore Avenue, holding signs that demanded Trump and Musk keep their hands off education, health care, social programs that serve veterans and vulnerable populations, among others.
Joe Wiley said Trump was ruining the country he fought for in Vietnam from 1966 to 1968.
“I’ve taken that oath twice,” he said, speaking of the pledge required from those in the military to defend the Constitution. “I believed it when I took it, and I believe it now. (Trump) has screwed up the things that I really care about.”
The Livermore demonstration took place on the same day the U.S. Senate approved a budget resolution that included spending cuts and tax breaks that Democrats said could lead to cutting programs like Medicaid in order to pay for tax cuts they say will largely serve the wealthy.
The Hands Off! website called it the most brazen power grab in modern history.
“Trump, Musk and their billionaire cronies are orchestrating an all-out assault on our government, our economy and our basic rights — enabled by Congress every step of the way,” according to the website. “They want to strip America for parts — shuttering Social Security offices, firing essential workers, eliminating consumer protections and gutting Medicaid — all to bankroll their billionaire tax scam.”
While protesting with his wife in Livermore on Saturday, Joe Murphy, a veteran and member of Veterans for Peace, spoke about how tired he was of spending money for never-ending wars. He said he worried about losing the health care he currently receives through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
“We could build a much better union if we save some of that money and put it into health care,” Murphy said.