BEVERLY HILLS—On Tuesday, March 13, a number of individuals and groups gathered in mass at Beverly Gardens Park to voice their extreme displeasure with President Donald Trump. The protest was scheduled to coincide with President Trump’s first visit to California since being elected into office. President Trump was scheduled to hold a fund raiser in Beverly Hills, though it is unlikely his motorcade passed the demonstration.
The message was clear – people chanted, yelled, and held vulgar signs opposing President Trump with language not appropriate for a news site. There were a number of local labor unions present, socialist groups advocating a revolution against capitalism, and the consensus voiced was one of desiring impeachment. However, there was no factual Constitutional violation that would legally justify removing him from the Oval Office.
A number of signs referenced Donald Trump comparing him to Adolph Hitler, despite the fact that President Trump has never been accused of killing anyone or advocating mass genocide. The largest display was a 15-foot inflatable Donald Trump in which the President was portrayed as an of the KKK, holding one of its members with a white pointed hood in his hand. From references to the Nazi “SS” death squads, to sexual references, to making fun of his appearance, it was clear that the protestors mass frustration with him as the U.S. President was something they wished to get across to the throngs of media present.
There were a few Pro Trump supporters present, and a few were engaged in debate with people who were willing to listen to other points of view. One of the most strident supporters was an African immigrant who came to the United States legally. She declined to provide her name, but did mention how much she loved the United States and the need to come together and support President Trump.
The Beverly Hills Police Department kept a watchful eye on the situation, but it appeared there were no arrests as protesters largely stayed in the designated area on the sidewalk and park. It seems the grievences were much larger than against President Trump, with themes on signs with wording such as “Trump is the symptom, Capitalism is the disease, Socialism is the cure.” Another theme voiced loudly in words and signs was the approach of ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement) to seek the arrest of illegal aliens who were also criminals. It was not clear if the protesters were in favor or against criminal activity, but they supported sanctuary cities. They were against the President’s plan to build a wall on the border with Mexico in order to reduce the number of people who sneak across the southern border.
Despite the fact, there has been no documented illegal Russian collusion with the Trump Presidential campaign, many in the crowd were dressed as Russians who acted the part of working with Trump to rig the election. To date, the only documented proof of Russian collusion has been with the Clinton campaign and Fusion GPS who together funneled the since dismissed dossier of lies about President Clinton, using former KGB sources in Russia.
With California solidly voting in favor of Democrats, and Governor Jerry Brown fighting President Trump on most of his policies, the protest itself did seem to be more a cathartic way to express frustration than an attempt to influence actual change. The protesters were invited via megaphone to board Progressive Democrat Pat Harris’ waiting school bus to be taken to downtown Los Angeles to continue the protest later in the evening in front of the hotel President Trump was scheduled to sleep at Tuesday night.
Harris is running for the U.S. Senate to oust longtime Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein, who has been seen by many on the left as not strong enough against President Trump.
