Anti-Trump protests: resistance stirring?
"Hands Off" protests against the politics of President Donald Trump erupted across the US on Saturday. The New York Times spoke of tens of thousands of demonstrators in Washington. And there were also major demonstrations in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Boston, Detroit and Chicago. Europe's press see seeds of resistance growing, but not all commentators share the optimism.
Awake at last
The demonstrations against Donald Trump this weekend gave Politiken reason for hope:
“One swallow doesn't make a summer. ... But hopefully the demonstrations are just the beginning. Resistance to Trump's policies is growing rapidly on many fronts, both internally and externally. ... And that's the way it should be. The more you bow to thugs like Trump and his brutal Vice President JD Vance, the worse they get. The only thing they understand is power. Trump has had too easy a run in his first 75 days. But now the United States and the rest of the world have finally woken up and entered the fray.”
Uprising against senile leader
US citizens will not tolerate Trump's idiocies, Adevărul declares:
“In just two days, Thursday and Friday, five to six billion dollars 'evaporated' on the stock exchanges. This even has an impoverishing effect on normal citizens who invested their life savings in stocks and shares. ... The demonstrations across America show that it is normal people that have been hit hardest by the crazy tariffs that Trump announced last Wednesday. ... America has a long democratic tradition and will not allow itself to be brought to its knees by a senile leader who does not know what world he is living in, yet has the power to threaten America's security and prosperity.”
Change can only come at the polls
The protests will change very little, the Kleine Zeitung argues:
“Trump just laughed at them and continued his round of golf. Republicans have the majority in both chambers of Congress. The security forces and the army are both under his control. Anyone who wants real change will have to vote against him in the mid-term elections in two years' time. However, the Democrats are still licking their wounds and have yet to come up with any new strategies. But perhaps all they have to do is let Trump keep doing his thing: so far he has proven to be his own worst enemy.”
Plutocracy not all-powerful after all
For political scientist Marina Pereira Guimarães in Público, the Democratic win of an important judicial election in Wisconsin is encouraging:
“The election of Susan Crawford to the Wisconsin Supreme Court was a rare exception in the current US political landscape: this time money was not the deciding factor. Despite a record amount of donations from billionaires, including Elon Musk, who invested more than 21 million dollars in conservative candidate Brad Schimel's campaign, voters said no. ... Crawford's victory shows that even in the face of the plutocratic dominance and the normalisation of money-for-power, American democracy may not be as venal as we had thought.”
Putin benefits
The demonstrations in the US are benefiting Russia, analyses political scientist Maksym Hardus in a Facebook post taken over by Telegraf:
“The protests in New York and Seattle, slogans like 'Stop Fascism!', clashes between Antifa and the police - all this seems to be an ideal opportunity [for Moscow] to keep Washington in check. If the Trump administration focuses all its energy on the witch hunt, the search for traitors in the FBI and the dismissal of 'suspicious' officials, the US will lose clout in the field of international politics. And that opens a window of opportunity for the Kremlin.”