Democrats Hold Trump Accountable and Organize With Events Across U.S.
May 1, 2017
Last week, Democrats held events across the country in response to the Trump administration’s first 100 days of broken promises and policy failures.
A majority of Americans disapprove of Trump’s first 100 days in office, and his 100-day job approval rating is lower than any other president in the modern era.
Pennsylvania Democratic and liberal protest groups turned out for an opposition rally and march in Harrisburg on Saturday to protest Trump, who chose to host his event in the very same city he referred to as “a war zone” during the campaign…There were perhaps 200 people on hand by the time Michael Blake, vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, closed out an hour of speakers. “Are you ready to fight?” he shouted. “Let's be clear. We cannot just talk about the White House. We have to talk about the State House! And the school board!”
Democratic state parties across the country held similar responses – here’s a sample of the coverage:
CBS 21: Protests Call Out Trump’s Broken Promises
Pennlive: ‘Love Trumps Hate’: Protesters rally against the president’s Harrisburg speech
About 100 people, including Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse, have gathered to protest President Donald Trump's planned speech in Harrisburg Saturday night. The protest is being held at the softball field across from the Farm Show & Expo Center, where the president will speak. Protest speakers included Democratic National Committee Vice Chairman Michael Blake. Protesters held signs that read “Love Trumps Hate” and “I’ve seen better cabinets at Ikea.”
York Dispatch: Pres. Trump celebrates 100th day with Harrisburg rally
Chad Baker, chairman of the Democratic Party of York County, joined Democratic National Committee Vice Chairman Michael Blake, Pennsylvania State Sen. Daylin Leach, Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse and others at a Pennsylvania Democratic Party resistance rally across the street from the complex. Baker said he was speaking at the rally because he was “ready to hold Donald Trump accountable for the last 100 days and for the rest of his administration.” “During the campaign, and even tonight, he’s going to tell you he’s promising to ‘make America great again,’” Baker said. “And I can tell you, the only thing Donald Trump has made great again is ‘Saturday Night Live.’”
Fox 43: Pennsylvania Democrats Protest Trump
CBS21: Protesters: “There are other voices that don't feel included in his administration”
While thousands filled the Farm Show Complex to hear President Trump speak, hundreds more lined the streets to protest outside the president's visit to the city of Harrisburg. Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse spoke out at one of the several counter rallies around the venue. Papenfuse said, ”Everything about Harrisburg is positive and we wanted to be able to tell that story”. Papenfuse was joined by other democrats at this rally that was put on by the Pennsylvania Democratic Party.
The Democratic Party has been holding a dizzying number of events around the commonwealth to meet with voters and share its agenda. They have also been venturing into traditional red communities in more rural parts of the commonwealth to promote their candidates for statewide office. The Democratic Party depicts the White House as pushing for tax breaks that will help the wealthy while proposing cuts to services that most help Trump's base. “The people that voted for him, he has turned their backs on them so we are not going to turn our backs on them,” said Susan Swecker, Virginia Democratic Party chair.
Swecker said the potential impact of the Trump budget is felt everywhere. The Trump budget cuts could affect Amtrak service in the Shenandoah Valley, funding for Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport and other agencies. “He is gutting the Appalachian Regional Commission,’’ she said of the federal agency that promotes economic development growth in several northern and southern states, including Virginia. “What is in there for hardworking Virginians?’’ Swecker asked of the Trump federal budget proposal.
Ask leading Democrats in Waukesha County to assign a letter grade to President Donald J. Trump's job during his first 100 days in office, and they don't hesitate. The president's healthcare plan didn't work, his immigration policies are harmful, and his tax policy will only hurt the poor and middle class, they said. “I think you can't give him anything above an F,” said Matt Lowe, chairman of the Waukesha County Democratic Party. “If you look at how many things he's gotten done: nothing. If you look at how smooth the transition has been, it's a failure. If you're looking at how quick he has been to replace the people of the Obama administration, it's a failure,” Lowe said. “There's really no good way you can spin it to say this has been a successful first 100 days.”
In a prepared statement Friday, Zody added: “It’s a simple standard. Can Hoosiers name an accomplishment of Trump’s that demonstrably improves their lives? No. Since taking office, hundreds of Indiana jobs are still leaving for Mexico. How has Trump reprimanded those who move jobs abroad? By proposing to slash their taxes with no way to pay for it. On health care, the President seems intent on leaving 400,000 Hoosiers – many receiving coverage for the first time – with no health care coverage and nowhere to turn. His budget threatens vital Indiana teacher training programs and critical after-school services for vulnerable Hoosier children. That’s not leadership, it’s shortsighted and without vision. President Trump does have some “accomplishments.” He’s made it easier for internet companies to sell your browsing history and harder for millennials to pay down student loans or buy a home. The good news? It is only 1,284 days to Election Day 2020, and Indiana Democrats will be working every day until then to do what's right for Hoosier families.”
Tennessee (Times Free Press Op-Ed):
Candidate Trump also promised to release his tax returns post-audit; now we know that he has no intention of ever doing so on his own. He promised health care reform that would “take care of everybody,” yet the plan he put forward would have forced 24 million Americans off their health insurance. Trump's campaign appealed largely to rural Americans, yet he's trying to slash funding to rural clean water and business initiatives under the Department of Agriculture. Trump's budget also cuts funding to the Appalachian Regional Commission, and the Southern Conservancy Corps, an organization that, in the last year, has improved 107 miles of hiking trails and waterways in the Chattanooga region alone.