In separate demonstrations against President Donald Trump, his unelected advisor Elon Musk, and their policies and actions that have caused havoc in Oregon and around the nation, hundreds of people flocked to the streets of downtown Salem and Northeast Portland on Wednesday.
Hundreds of protesters demonstrated outside the Salem Capitol, waving flags and posters about identities and rights they believe the Trump administration is threatening. There were rainbow LGBTQ+ flags, pink, blue, and white trans Pride flags, posters supporting reproductive rights and environmental protection, and numerous names of Trump or Musk.
Additionally, according to spokesperson Hank Stern, more than 200 protesters gathered outside the office of Democratic Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, who has vowed to oppose what he described as Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s dictatorial takeover of our federal government.
In addition, Wyden signed a letter to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles requesting that she respond to inquiries concerning Musk and his group’s unlawful access to sensitive government documents and Americans’ private information, including as bank accounts, home addresses, and Social Security numbers.
Until Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency are halted, denied access to sensitive information at government agencies, and barred from federal facilities, protesters also want Democrats to reject Trump’s other nominees by denying the Senate’s majority Republicans a quorum.
In an effort to prevent a vote on Trump’s nomination for the Office of Management and Budget, Russell Vought, Democratic leaders on the Senate floor are staging an all-night protest, which includes Jeff Merkley, the ranking member of the Senate budget committee and another Democratic U.S. senator from Oregon.
Merkley stated on X that we are currently experiencing an authoritarian administrative takeover. Now is the time for all Americans to take a position, speak up, and participate.
On Wednesday, hundreds of Oregonians demonstrated against Trump’s activities during his first weeks in office by gathering across the street from the Oregon Capitol steps in Salem. The event was a part of a nationwide campaign that also included another rally close to the Portland offices of U.S. Senator Ron Wyden.Special to the Oregonian/John Killen
The demonstrations are a part of a nationwide effort on Wednesday to express opposition to a barrage of contentious executive orders since the inauguration, which was organized in part by the pro-democracy organization Indivisible and others. They include a drive against scientific research across the country, a threat to freeze some federal grants, the elimination of the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the removal of terms related to diversity, equity, and inclusion as well as the LGBTQ+ community from federal government websites. Large-scale protests were held in Washington state, Arizona, Colorado, North Carolina, and other places, and thousands of people showed up from the west and east coasts in addition to Oregon.
Protesters also chanted and held signs in the streets against the Senate’s approval of Vought to head the budget office. He has made it apparent that he believes Trump has the power to halt funds that Congress has approved but that the administration disagrees with. Vought is one of the main authors of Project 2025, a contentious conservative framework that aims to restructure the federal government and grant the executive branch complete authority.
To attend the rally, some demonstrators drove through snow or ice from all around the state to Salem, where they assembled outside the Capitol. Many claimed they were there to let Trump and Oregon lawmakers know that the state’s citizens were listening and weren’t pleased.
Artist Dago Benavidez of Salem held a sign that read, “Not my czar,” which he claimed referred to both Musk and Trump. When Benavidez was employed with the state’s employment department, he helped people who lost their jobs due to production migrating to Canada or Mexico acquire new skills and find new employment by using federal monies made available under the North American Free Trade Agreement. Trump’s announcement of a government spending freeze, which he later reversed after it was challenged by courts last week, disturbed him.
According to Benavidez, “I hope even Trump supporters wake up and see the damage this guy is doing to us.”
With a placard that read, “I’m going to speak out while I still can,” Kendra Petersen-Morgan traveled from Portland to Salem. According to Petersen-Morgan, she felt compelled to come for her two girls as well as for others who were scared to speak out in public or join a protest.
She had been feeling overtaken by the deluge of news from D.C., so spending the morning around like-minded individuals also helped her feel better.
“People are tired of sitting and doing nothing,” she remarked.
Tom Coppolino used to accompany his environmental studies students to Eugene protests; he traveled from Corvallis to Salem. He thought about carrying some of their protest signs, but he had to use his cane instead.
According to Coppolino, he frequently hears Trump believe that his opponents are guilty or in danger. He claimed that Wednesday’s events in Salem and other national capitals should show Trump that the public isn’t intimidated by him.
Do we appear to be in danger? In response to a chorus of honks, he pointed to the group of individuals holding signs. We will fight as hard as we can. We will not give up.
Vincent Johnson, a resident of Salem, displayed a banner that read, “Tired of partying like it’s 1933,” referring to the year Adolf Hitler was proclaimed chancellor of Germany, and an upside-down American flag over his shoulder, signifying the nation’s misery. Johnson said he is concerned that Americans may lose their democracy if they do nothing now because he sees obvious similarities between the emergence of the Nazi regime in Germany and modern-day America.
“I hope they understand that we will not be defeated easily,” Johnson remarked.
From Longview, Washington, Carol Tomlinson traveled to support a friend and demonstrate against a number of Trump initiatives, such as his views on immigration, LGBTQ+ rights, and Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, which Congress has not approved.
According to Tomlinson, it appears like both Elon and Trump are attempting to methodically destroy everything that defines us as Americans.
Driving in snow, Debbie Duus and Elissa Wilson traveled from Newport to Salem. They feel more energized today than they did before Trump took office, when people were really depressed and could only speculate about what he might do, Duus said, adding that everyone she talks to in her coastal village wants to do something.
Duus stated, “We now have a reason to protest everything he does.” Musk is misbehaving. Trump is behaving strangely.
The audience in front of Wyden’s office in Portland included Thor Hinckley, who called on the senator and senate Democrats to prevent Vought from being confirmed to head the Office of Budget and Management.
“That’s the biggest worry,” he stated.
Hinckley is a member of Third Act Oregon, a nonprofit organization composed of individuals over 60 who advocate for environmental policy and the defense of democracy.
Regarding Wyden and Merkley’s resistance to Vought in earlier hearings, he stated, “They’ve been very good so far, and we want them to do even more because the crisis is real and it’s time to act now.”
At the event in Portland, 75-year-old Cheryl McCoy stated that her top aim is to remove Musk from federal government positions of authority.
The first thing, in my opinion, is that Musk must be stopped, McCoy stated. This is a crisis of the constitution. He was not elected. This is an effort to topple everything that is important to us in this nation.
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