Trump opponents ready to take to streets with nationwide protests

By Daniel Trotta

(Reuters) - Some 1,200 demonstrations are planned across the U.S. on Saturday in what organizers expect to be the largest single day of protest against President Donald Trump and his billionaire ally Elon Musk since the administration launched its rapid-fire effort to put a conservative stamp on government.

The "Hands Off!" protests will give Trump opponents an opportunity to demonstrate their displeasure en masse in response to Trump's sweeping makeover of U.S. foreign and domestic policy through executive orders.

"This is an enormous demonstration that is sending a very clear message to Musk and Trump and congressional Republicans and all the goose-stepping allies of MAGA that we don't want their hands on our democracy, on our communities, on our schools and our friends and our neighbors," said Ezra Levin, co-founder of Indivisible, one of the groups organizing Saturday's events.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Trump or Musk.

Some 150 activist groups have signed up to participate, according to the event's website.

Events are planned in all 50 states plus Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Mexico and Portugal. One of the biggest rallies is expected on Washington's National Mall.

Trump returned to office on January 20 with a stream of executive orders and other measures critics say are aligned with an agenda outlined by Project 2025, a deeply conservative political initiative to reshape government and consolidate presidential authority. His supporters have applauded Trump's audacity as necessary to disrupt entrenched liberal interests.

White House assistant press secretary Liz Huston disputed the protesters' charge that Trump aimed to cut Social Security and Medicaid.

"President Trump's position is clear: he will always protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid for eligible beneficiaries. Meanwhile, the Democrats' stance is giving Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare benefits to illegal aliens, which will bankrupt these programs and crush American seniors," Huston said in an email.

Much of Trump's agenda has been restrained by lawsuits contending he has overstepped his authority with attempts to fire civil servants, deport immigrants and reverse transgender rights.

Pro-Palestinian groups opposing U.S. ally Israel's renewed military action in Gaza and the Trump administration's crackdown on campus protests will also participate in Washington and plan to carry out a march, protest groups said in a statement.

At the start of Trump's first term in 2017, hundreds of thousands of people joined the Women's March on Washington to demonstrate opposition.

Protests this year have been smaller, but activist leaders have been planning to unite for a large-scale event, Levin said.

Indivisible, which formed after Trump's first election in 2016, has worked with other liberal groups, including MoveOn and the Working Families Party, to unite progressive organizations nationwide.

Among the organizations pledged to participate are the Service Employees International Union, a labor union representing about 2 million workers; Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ advocacy group in the United States; and the environmental group Greenpeace.