On the eve of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, thousands gathered in protest at Civic Center Plaza in front of San Francisco City Hall on Sunday, vowing to resist.
But, unlike the mass protests that accompanied Trump’s first term in office — the largest in U.S. history, which brought out millions of ordinary Americans less accustomed to taking streets — Sunday’s march was led by socialist groups and featured a hodgepodge of leftist issues.
Speakers led “Free Palestine” chants, railed against deportations, and even called for a unified Korea without U.S military bases. Trump was a through-line, but not always the focus of the march.
The many in the Bay Area who voted against Trump, for the most part, stayed home. While the march drew more people than Saturday’s anti-Trump rally, it was a far cry from the numbers seen in 2016.
“We come together, like we always do, when there’s a heightened threat of more war, poverty, sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia and environmental destruction,” said Ramsey Robinson, who spoke on behalf of the Party for Socialism and Liberation. “We fight back,” he added.
The rally was organized by a coalition of leftist organizations, including Mission Advocates, La Colectiva de Mujeres, and unions, including the United Educators of San Francisco and Unite Here Local 2, the hospitality workers’ union.
Speakers voiced their concerns for issues beyond concerns about Trump: namely, climate change, the Israeli occupation in Palestine, and immigrants’ and workers’ rights.
“We know that the cease-fire is the bare minimum, and we know that the fight ahead is long,” said a speaker for the Palestinian Youth Movement.“It is only just beginning, and we need to continue to show up for Palestine.”
Most participants who spoke to Mission Local were involved in activism and organizing in some capacity; few were attending a protest for the first time. While at least hundreds attended, the size crowd was a far cry from the protests that took over the city in 2016, when Trump was first elected.
“I wish there were more [people]” said Jason Capili. “I feel like more people are resigned. It’s worrisome, because this time we need to get up twice as hard.”
Others shared the same sentiment.
“Some people are fired up,” said Donna Wallach, a participant who traveled from San Jose to attend the rally. “Others feel hopeless and powerless,” she added.
Greg Shore, another participant, echoed the same concern that some people are more complacent now. Seventy-seven million people voted for Trump, he said; “It’s beyond comprehension.”
Bao, another participant who happened to stumble upon the event while heading to the library, was concerned about how voters are informing themselves. Trump is a convicted felon, they said. “Did people know? If they did, then all hope is lost, right?” they added.
Bao decided to pick up a sign advocating for reproductive and trans rights. “Let’s keep protesting,” they said.
The rally eventually mobilized and marched down Market Street, chanting. “When people’s rights are under attack, what do we do?” speakers shouted over the microphone. “Fight back!” the crowd cheered.
Looks like a motley ragbag of the usual suspects who show up for every half-baked protest, complaining about everything under the sun, achieving nothing of course. But as long as it made them feel better . .
It takes a lot to make Trump look like an adult but these guys managed it.
These are a bunch of folks who spent 4 years pushing unpopular policies and counterproductively slamming Biden from the left on fringe issues. They got what they wanted.
Actually? The illegal occupation of Palestine is unpopular worldwide, including in Israel. Raising taxes on Billionaires to be on par with the working class burden is very popular. Protecting womens’ health and right to not reproduce should they unexpectedly become pregnant is very popular nationally. Trump himself is not particularly popular compared to previous Presidents, Biden either, nor Harris. I think the difference is these people are going to push for what they want regardless of who is in office, whereas Trump supporters will find ways of excusing his unpopular and often dumb ideas regardless of what they are. His flip flop on Tiktok was probably his single best move of his political career, unfortunately for our state of affairs.
I think you’re on to something, card! Just to recap: a small, marginalized number of actual left-wingers who opposed fringe Democrat policies that bent the knee to genocide, Wall St, Big Med, Big Tech, and Big War, and gave us historic wealth inequality and working class despair not seen since the Great Depression, are responible for forcing the Democrat establishment to install an unpopular candidate and compel a small number of swing voters in seven states to vote for orange hitler. Ingrates!
Do I have that right?
Wrecking the environment by issuing even more drilling licenses than Trump is not a fringe issue. Spending our tax dollars on bombs to kill innocent people some 10,000 miles away is not a fringe issue. Continuing to build Trump’s wall of shame is not a fringe issue. Letting corporations jacking up prices of essential goods is not a fringe issue. And doing nothing about the exorbitant cost of having a roof over your head is not a fringe issue be it in San Francisco or Boise, Idaho.
The excuse of Republicans ate my homework can only go so far. Who knows, could it be that Liberals just don’t give a shit about any of these issues and are happy with posturing while blaming the Left for peeping a squeak about these failures?
The Democratic Party got what it deserved. Blaming voters is lazy.
Welcome to San Francisco! Please don’t break anything during your march; we’re not the enemy. Patronize local shops. Get home safely. Thanks for coming!
Why are “climate change, the Israeli occupation in Palestine and immigrants’ and workers’ rights issues beyond concerns about Trump”? These are exactly some of the problems that people fear Trump will exacerbate. Drill, baby, drill. Mass deportations on day one, etc.
The votes for Trump were a far more effective protest against neo-Marxist leftism, than these tired rag tag ‘protesters’.
Comparing the Constitutionally protected rights of protesters with Marxists is where Republicans go from fully uneducated to brownshirt-ready.
People should march to Pelosi’s house to hold her to account for her failed leadership that led to the collapse of the Democrat Party and the rise and restoration of Trump.
Pro Palestinian protestors protesting Trump after he pushed through a cease fire…
We lost because we compromised EVERYTHING to support “moderates”.
What happens is people who don’t vote, feel they’re not being represented. Show me how many trillions when to rich people during periods when Democrats held office and did the min wage go up? No. You can go look at 100000 examples.
And you say, “well, look what happens when they don’t vote”, and that’s exactly true. If we had supported “radical left wing policies”, like increasing the minimum wage, like every other first world country, or national healthcare, like every other first world country, or even not supporting a blatant genocide, like every other first world nation
would you moderates be like, “oh no, I’m not going to vote”
No. You’d vote democrat and be like, “well, it’s pretty lefty for me, but the alternative is Trump”.
So, think about it. The REASON we lost is because moderates took the money and the power while telling the “radical left” that they should just shut the f up and vote for their candidate because otherwise they’ll get the republican. But if you DARE suggest that we act like other first world nations, it’s Republicans and Democrats blaming “leftists”.
Now…. it’s too late. Now it’s over. And I don’t mean for the next 4 years. This is it. It’s done.
House Democrats voted for the last April Ukraine munitions package straight down the line – every last one of them. AOC ran point for getting that vote separated off from Israel munitions package so the squad could – finally – unanimously signal they opposed genocide while still voting ‘yay’ on Ukraine package.
Cori Bush was recently asked why at a pro-peace event and she nonsensically attempts to use Black and brown people as cover. When Marjorie Taylor Greene has a more principled anti-war stance than the squad, Dems are in trouble.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=en0y-TQWXxU&pp=ygUZR2xlbm4gZ3JlZW53YWxkIGNvcmkgYnVzaA%3D%3D
Biden, Harris, and Blinken refused to push through a Gaza ceasefire.
The way the ceasefire story goes (according to Haaretz) is that Witkoff phoned Netanyahu’s people from Doha two Fridays ago and said he’d be in Israel the following afternoon to speak with Netanyahu. An aide said Netanyahu would be observing Sabbath and unavailable until later in the day. Witkoff told the aide in “salty English” – speculated here as ‘I don’t give a shit’ – that he’d be there in the afternoon. Netanyahu agreed and met with Witkoff, who sealed the deal and flew back to Doha.
https://archive.ph/iR4sB
It was the Iran Hostage release on Reagan’s day 1, all over again. Except this time it’s Nyetanyahu holding the hostages in captivity, not Iranian revolutionaries.
I’ve seen that comparison over the last week and I don’t find it compelling.
The point here isn’t to laud Trump, who will inevitably fuck over the Palestinians himself, but to highlight the fact that Israel is still a US poodle. Biden and Blinken, nor Harris had she been elected, ever had any intention of telling the poodle to sit down and shut up.
Israel is the regional bulwark against the threat of Arab terrorism and Islamic fundamentalism. So support of Israel is a matter of national security and not a matter for petty partisan party politics. It is quite simply non-negotiable.
There’s nothing objective regarding your premise, but I’m sure you think there is. It’s a propaganda narrative decades in the making, tweaked by petty partisan politics.
Nobody is refuting the veracity of the Haaretz reporting, which was picked up internationally. The clapback is to invoke the 1981 hostages deal and pretend it is evidence of a 2025 partisan steal.