For Olivia Rissling and Shannon O’Donnell, President Donald Trump’s slashing of federal funds for medical research and higher education institutions hit them personally.
The 20-year-olds are both biology majors at Elizabethtown College with aspirations of going to medical school. With Trump’s cut to federal grants for medical programs and capping of student loan borrowing limits, neither is certain they can afford the programs that interest them.
They joined at least four thousand protesters who took to the streets of downtown Lancaster Saturday afternoon to voice their opposition to Trump’s slashing of federal agencies and programs, crackdown on immigration and expansion of executive authority.
“Even though we’re against certain policies and stuff, we’re (protesting) because we’re American and because we believe in the ideals that this country was founded upon, and we think that our country can do better,” Rissling said.
Similar to the scores of “No Kings” rallies taking place nationwide, many participants carried homemade signs or wore clothing that criticized Trump‘s policies. Others carried American flags or signs quoting the U.S. Constitution.
About one thousand people gathered in Reservoir Park at 2 p.m. and marched westward on King Street to Binns Park for the 3 p.m. rally.
“The people united will never be divided,” could be heard shouted to the beat of drums, as the participants marched.
Similar to the scores of “No Kings” rallies taking place nationwide, many participants carried homemade signs or wore clothing that criticized Trump‘s policies. Others carried American flags or signs quoting the U.S. Constitution.
About one thousand people gathered in Reservoir Park at 2 p.m. and marched westward on King Street to Binns Park for the 3 p.m. rally.
“The people united will never be divided,” could be heard shouted to the beat of drums, as the participants marched.
Dozens of residents and small business owners joined in the chants from their front porches along East King Street.
When the march arrived at Binns Park, it was led by Lancaster city mayoral candidate Jaime Arroyo, who was carrying a megaphone and leading a chant: “No kings! No tyrants! We shall not be silent.”
Lancaster’s demonstration was just one of more than 2,700 events planned in cities across the United States on Saturday. They were modeled after the thousands of “No Kings” rallies held nationwide on June 14, which coincided with Trump’s birthday.
Harrisburg, for example, drew more than 5,000 people to protest outside the state Capitol on Saturday morning. Many of the participants there wore costumes and shouted similar chants to those heard in Lancaster.
“No kings. No crowns. We won’t back down,” could be heard echoing from the front of the Capitol building over downtown Harrisburg.
Voices in the crowd
Speakers — ranging from nurses to local faith leaders to government officials — addressed the audience at the roughly hour-long rally.
Lancaster city state Rep. Izzy Smith-Wade-El spoke toward the beginning of the program. He said while marching on King Street that he had “an obligation” to join the protest to stand up for the people he represents in the General Assembly.
“These are people who want what’s best for their country, who want this country to have a future,” Smith-Wade-El said. “And they’re doing it in a way that returns to what the root of this country is about.”
Trump was not the only one scrutinized.
Speakers also jabbed at Lancaster County’s U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker, a Republican, for closely aligning himself with Trump’s policies, which they said are dividing Americans. And they criticized U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, a Democrat representing Pennsylvania, for siding with the GOP during the budget fight that has shut down the U.S. government.
Trex Proffitt, a teacher and 2024 Democratic state Senate candidate, emceed the event. Toward the end of the rally, he told participants that their efforts to push back on Trump should not stop with their joining of Saturday’s event.
“One of the things that is a danger is that you leave here and say, ‘I did it and I’m done, and I finished my job,’ ” Proffitt said. “That is not the case.”
GOP’s response
Heading into Saturday, Republican officials decried the national protest. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, referred to it as “the hate America rally” in a press conference on Friday.
Some of the national organizations with local chapters behind the “No Kings” demonstrations, including anti-Trump group Indivisible, have been named by the White House as part of what it considers left-wing “domestic terror networks,” as reported by Reuters. The administration says federal agents from the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department will be investigating the groups, Reuters reported.
“Listen to the language they use themselves,” Johnson said of the “No Kings” protesters. “Many of them don’t like living in America. They hate capitalism. They hate our free enterprise system. They hate our principles.”
Participants who spoke to a reporter Saturday denounced Johnson’s interpretation.
Jose Nieves, a 30-year-old Harrisburg resident, said that most of the people participating in the rallies are there to make their voices heard and engage in a dialogue about how to improve the country.
“If you love a country, you shouldn’t be afraid to criticize it,” Nieves said. “How are you supposed to make the country better if you just always think that it’s perfect?”
Nieves moved to Harrisburg from Puerto Rico five years ago. He said Trump has “other-ized” immigrants and made people believe they are an enemy to the United States.
“I’m gonna be a father soon,” Nieves said. “I want my kids to grow up somewhere where they’re not afraid to be who they are.”