On Saturday, we witnessed a sweeping wave of protests with over 1,000 “Hands Off” demonstrations filling streets from coast to coast. Dozens of thousands people filled the streets of New York, with actions also taking place in Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Washington D.C., and other cities. Organized by a coalition of unions, progressive groups, and nonprofits, the mass mobilizations gathered hundreds of thousands to oppose the Trump administration’s escalating attacks on social programs, civil liberties, and working-class communities. 

The nationwide day of action came at a critical turning point — what many are calling the most turbulent week of Trump’s presidency. On April 2, dubbed “Liberation Day” by the administration, Trump rolled out sweeping 10 percent tariffs on nearly all foreign imports and additional higher rates for specific nations like China (which is being hit with a 34 percent tariff), Japan (24 percent), and the nations included in the European Union (20 percent). 

Such a move triggered a historic financial backlash: markets plunged in a two-day selloff, wiping out $6.6 trillion in value and marking the most severe devaluation since the COVID-19 crisis. That economic shock, layered atop deepening repression and social austerity, helped fuel the breadth and intensity of Saturday’s protests.

Protesters rallied in defense of essential programs like Social Security and Medicaid, which are under renewed threat of looming budget cuts. But the outcry extended beyond economics. Demonstrators condemned the administration’s anti-immigrant measures, attacks on free speech, and ongoing repression. 

The protests focused on anger against Elon Musk, whose DOGE program is working with Trump to implement this mass austerity agenda. For weeks, anger at Musk has been expressed in small protests at Tesla. The judicial election in Wisconsin further expresses this rejection of Musk, with the Trumpist judge being defeated despite millions of dollars spent by Musk on the campaign. It is the most expensive judicial election in U.S. history.  

While many of the people marching wore keffiyehs and groups like Educators for Palestine organized to march, these actions had the significant weakness of denouncing the authoritarian aspects of the Trump administration without demanding freedom for Mahmoud Khalil and all those with visas revoked or detained for protesting, alongside the end of the genocide in Gaza. These are immigrants rights issues, free speech issues, labor issues, and more. The connections are clear and it is essential that the struggle of thousands of people against Trump take up these demands as central, with the spirit that if they touch one of us, we all rise up. 

With Trump’s approval rating plummeting to 43 percent, the lowest since he took office, and widespread economic turmoil shaking confidence even among his base, the “Hands Off” protests point to a growing rejection of the administration’s agenda — and a renewed willingness to fight back.

This shows that Trump doesn’t have a mandate and if many of the attacks from his administration have passed it’s due to the inaction of the opposition and the passive role of the unions. 

The protests also raised urgent demands on the labor movement. In this climate of growing authoritarianism and economic instability, the union leaderships have refused to organize a substantive fight back. The Teamsters and the UAW have had a conciliatory attitude towards Trump, with the UAW lauding the tariffs before they were announced. On the other hand, their lack of support and mobilization for the struggle for Palestine has allowed Trump to advance repressive measures against the Palestine movement — which are also an attack on labor. The firing of Grant Miner — the president of Student Workers of Columbia — is an attack not only on the Palestine movement but also on labor. 

In the last Trump administration, we witnessed mass movements like the Women’s March and numerous marches for immigrants’ rights, as well as the biggest social movement in U.S. history, Black Lives Matter. These movements were funneled into the Democractic Party and used to strengthen the Biden administration — who then increased police budgets, attacked workers and funded and supported the genocide in Gaza — opening the door to the Far Right. This must serve as a warning for those organizing against Trump — the Democrats seek to pacify anger and funnel it to the ballot box, killing progressive demands. 

That is why the struggle against Trump must be organized independently from the Democrats. Unions must mobilize independently of both the Trump administration and the bipartisan political establishment — organizing workplaces, defending democratic rights, and resisting repression.

We must organize this struggle from below, organizing workplace discussions and assemblies to discuss the way forward, to mobilize new sectors to protest and to discuss the way forward from the ranks and file. We need the powerful unity on the streets of labor, the student movement and the social movement to fight back with one fist against Trump and the new Far Right in power with the methods of the working class. 

Today’s actions demonstrate that there is anger and a will to fight. Organized from below, with all the creativity and initiative of the rank and file and connecting our struggles, the movement can defeat Trump’s policies and fight for more.