Thousands of people gathered in Philadelphia on Saturday to march in protest of the policies of President and 1968 Wharton Graduate Donald Trump’s administration as part of a national day of action.
In a press release, organizers of the nationwide “Hands Off!” protests called them “the largest day of collective action since Trump’s inauguration.” Demonstrators held signs bearing anti-Trump slogans and chanted as they marched from City Hall to Independence Mall, where several members of Congress and Pennsylvania legislators spoke.
U.S. Reps. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) and Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.) joined union workers and several Pennsylvania and Philadelphia legislators in speaking out against Trump’s policies and the work of the Department of Government Efficiency, headed by 1997 College and Wharton graduate Elon Musk.
2013 Engineering graduate and Pennsylvania Rep. Rick Krajewski (D-Phila.), who represents the district that includes Penn, spoke to the crowd at City Hall before the march started.
“I am so proud and honored to be here with y’all and show them that Philly fights back,” Krajewski said. “[Trump has] come at us before. We told him, stay out of Philadelphia. Keep your fascism out of Philadelphia.”
“I think this is us trying to support our institutions in doing the right thing, and standing up for our communities, standing up for our trans folks, or immigrants, or black and brown people,” Krajewski said of the rally in an interview with The Daily Pennsylvanian. “And so I hope that this event and this turnout is the support that institutions like Penn need to be able to stand up and do the right thing.”
Pennsylvania Rep. Chris Rabb (D-Phila.), while criticizing the Trump administration’s use of Immigration and Customs Enforcement against student protesters, also criticized universities for not resisting immigration policies.
“We are the masses who will hold our institutions to account, governmental, financial, religious, philanthropic, and educational — especially those universities with the most money, the biggest endowment, but the least courage to use their ‘f—k you’ money,” Rabb said. “Why are you gonna have ‘f—k you’ money if you aren’t gonna use it?”
Several speakers used rhetoric describing Trump as a “fascist” and called his actions unconstitutional. Some protesters held signs comparing Trump to Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, and likened his administration to the Third Reich.
U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) likened Trump to a king, and said in his speech that he hopes Trump “hears these words: Mr. President, Philly is undefeated against asshole kings.”
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