Image by Marc Pell.

The numbers are coming in, and as always, the estimates vary widely. Let’s just say there were more than a million people across the United States in the streets protesting the excesses of the Trump administration since January 20, 2025. Also, like always, the demands of the organizers (who went by the name Hands Off) were often transcended by the intentions of those actually attending the rallies, marches and other manifestations of discontent. Just as predictable as the speculation about the number of people in the streets are the complaints by some on the left, complaining that the protest demands were not radical enough and were just an attempt by the Democratic party to divert the growing anger of the US population.

Meanwhile, another large march was held in the streets of Washington, DC. This protest was organized by Palestinian solidarity organizations, leftist groups against US imperialism, Muslim and Jewish organizations opposed to the Israel-US genocide and occupation in Palestine and others. It’s estimated that this protest involved at least a hundred thousand or more protesters. In addition, many of the local protests organized under the auspices of the Hands Off group highlighted the US-Israeli massacre in Gaza and the West Bank. This meant that the opposition to the occupation and the repression of anti-occupation protesters was humanized and brought to the attention of thousands of US residents who previously had only the anti-Palestinian US media providing its take on the slaughter. This is a positive development, especially as the crackdown on students and others supporting an end to the........

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