Happy (Not My) Presidents Day!
Anti-Trump protesters come out for ‘Not My Presidents Day’ rallies
A broad range of activists opposed to the month-old Trump administration were using Monday's President's Day holiday to hold “Not My Presidents Day ” rallies nationwide.
With most government workers, school employees and students enjoying a day off due to the federal holiday, events were underway in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and as many as two dozen other communities, organizers said. In Atlanta, more than 600 protesters were expected at an “ImPEACH Now” march — the group's Facebook page featured an image of a cut peach with Trump's face in place of the pit.
In Los Angeles, about 4,300 people were expected to rally at noon at City Hall, according to the group's Facebook page. Protests were also taking place in nearby Pasadena and near Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif.
In Philadelphia, protesters were marching in a "Counter the Executive Orders" rally, according to the group's Facebook page.
In Ann Arbor, Mich. , about 600 marchers were expected to attend a "Bad Hombres and Nasty Women" event Monday night, featuring "uncensored performances" and benefiting Planned Parenthood .
“While we acknowledge that Donald Trump holds the current title, the policies he’s trying to put in place are not the beliefs shared by the majority of the people,” said Nova Calise, a television production manager and one of the organizers of New York event, which was expected to draw about 15,000 people to Trump International Hotel near Manhattan’s Central Park , according to a Facebook group. Expected speakers included Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and Sonia Ossorio, who runs the New York City chapter of the National Organization for Women .
Monday's rallies come days after several weekend events in New York, Dallas and Los Angeles that called for the establishment of "sanctuary cities" in order to end immigration raids, NBC News reported. In Boston, hundreds of scientists marched to urge Trump to recognize climate change and tackle environmental issues. The rally coincided with the annual conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Science .
On Sunday in New York, more than 1,000 people rallied in New York City in support of Muslim Americans. The "I Am A Muslim Too" rally was organized by, among others, hip-Hop mogul Russell Simmons , who said last week, "We are living in a time when unity will make America great. This is a special moment for all Americans of goodwill to band together to promote the kind of compassion and equality for others that we want for ourselves."
Rabbi Marc Schneier , FFEU's president, co-organized the first "Today, I Am A Muslim Too" in 2010, ABC reported.
In a statement, Rabbi Schneier said: "We must join together at the most famous crossroads in the world to make a collective statement that, 'Whenever my Muslim brothers and sisters are demonized and vilified, discriminated against or victimized by hate crimes and violence, 'Today, I am a Muslim too.'"
One of the organizers of Monday's Chicago rally, business professor Laura Hartman, said the event has an overarching theme of unity. Hartman said Trump’s early moves — from attacking journalists to imposing limits on immigration — could splinter the public.
“We don’t want to pick an issue,” said Hartman, who also attended the massive Women’s March in Washington last month. “By embracing a broad umbrella, we can show this administration that the numbers against it are broad."
Contributing: Fredreka Schouten; Follow Greg Toppo on Twitter: @gtoppo
