Across the US, Protesters Rally Against Donald Trump and Elon Musk

“No kings on Presidents Day.”

AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

On Monday, thousands of protesters across the country hit the streets to tell Donald Trump and Elon Musk “No kings on Presidents’ Day” in response to the barrage of alarming actions—from legally questionable executive orders to mass firings—taken by the administration since the inauguration.

From California to Florida, demonstrators were seen armed with signs that read “Resist fascism” and “Fight for Democracy,” as they marched against Trump’s agenda. Some braved freezing temperatures.

“I thought it was important to be here on Presidents Day to demonstrate for what America stands for,” 55-year-old Emily Manning, an engineer who was one of nearly a thousand protesters in Boston, told the Associated Press. “American values are not the values of the plutocracy or the limited few rich people.”

Many of the protests were organized by the 50501 Movement, a grassroots organization aimed at mobilizing against “the anti-democratic and illegal actions of the Trump administration and its plutocratic allies.” The group started as a decentralized effort born from a Reddit thread of the same name; it organized a similar set of nationwide protests earlier this month.

A demonstrator holds a poster displaying a prohibited traffic sign reading “Musk DOGE” during a rally to protest President Trump’s policies on Presidents Day Monday, Feb. 17, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)

Big crowd at the SF Tesla dealership protesting our unelected overlord. A tiny sign hangs from an upstairs window

Ruth Malone, RN, PhD (@remalone.bsky.social) 2025-02-17T20:31:00.189Z
Shannon Perry, a special education teacher from Centreville, Va., wears a handmaids costume while attending a “No Kings Day” protest on Presidents Day in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Protesters holding a banner and signs march from Union Square to Washington Square Park. (Photo by Ron Adar / SOPA Images/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images)
People protest as part of the “No Kings Day” protest on Presidents Day in Washington, in support of federal workers and against recent actions by Trump and Elon Musk, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025, by the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
People take part in the “No Kings Day” protest on Presidents Day in Washington, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025, by the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
February 17, 2025, New York City, New York, United States: Protesters hold a rally and march against U.S. President Donald Trump, the GOP Congress, and ”unelected oligarchs”. (Credit Image: © Michael Nigro/Pacific Press via ZUMA Press Wire)
February 17, 2025, New York City, : Protesters hold a rally and march against U.S. President Donald Trump, the GOP Congress, and ”unelected oligarchs” (Credit Image: © Michael Nigro/Pacific Press via ZUMA Press Wire)

Meanwhile, despite reports of tension, Trump and Musk’s partnership in upending the federal government seems stronger than ever. Last week, the pair sat down for their first joint interview with Fox News‘ Sean Hannity, where Musk compared reactions among Democrats to Trump’s policies to “rabies.”

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And the essential ingredient that makes all this possible? Readers like you.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to devote the time and resources to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And the essential ingredient that makes all this possible? Readers like you.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to devote the time and resources to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate