US People Against President Trump and His Weird Ideas

NEW YORK, THURSDAY - The people of the United States are becoming increasingly uneasy with the policies of President Donald Trump's administration. Thousands of people in the cities of Philadelphia, Minnesota, Michigan, Texas, Wisconsin, and Indiana have protested against immigration policies, the revocation of transgender rights, and the idea of forcibly relocating Palestinian residents from the Gaza Strip. In just the past two weeks, Trump has been accused of wreaking havoc on American democracy.

The protesters, on Wednesday (2/5/2025) local time or Thursday Indonesian time, carried banners condemning Trump, billionaire Elon Musk who leads the Department of Government Efficiency, and Project 2025, a hardline right-wing handbook for the US government and society.

This protest is the result of a movement organized online with the hashtags #buildtheresistance and #50501, which stands for 50 protests, 50 states, in one day.

Websites and accounts across social media are issuing calls to action. These calls are accompanied by messages such as "reject fascism" and "defend our democracy".

"I did not expect democracy to change in just the last two weeks. I joined the protest to show that I am also fighting," said a protester in Columbus, Ohio, Margaret Wilmeth.

Catie Miglietti, a Michigan resident, is concerned about Musk being given access to Treasury Department data. If left unchecked and the US Congress does not act, this is tantamount to an attack on democracy.

Several members of Congress have expressed concerns about Musk's involvement in the US Government's payment system. This poses a high risk to the security or payments for programs such as Social Security and Health Insurance. However, an official at the US Department of the Treasury stated that Musk would only have "read access."

Trump signed a series of executive orders ranging from trade, immigration, to climate change. As the Democratic Party began voicing opposition to Trump's agenda, protests multiplied.

Critics are often baffled by Trump's seemingly outlandish and far-fetched ideas for dealing with complex problems. Many also wonder whether Trump is serious or just trying to show off his negotiating position or distract attention.

“A lot of President Trump’s talk is hyperbole, clever negotiation, and serious all at the same time. When he says something that seems outrageous and then it doesn’t happen, he passes it off as a joke or a negotiating tactic. But when it occasionally works, he calls himself a genius,” George Washington University Media School Director Peter Loge told AFP.

Trump's favorite tactic is to keep people guessing. Trump's signature idea is outlandish ideas. In 2020, Trump floated the idea of injecting disinfectant to treat Covid-19 infections or somehow inserting a form of sterile light into people's bodies.

In another case, Trump once promised to end the Ukraine war in just 24 hours. Trump also shocked the world by suddenly talking about annexing Canada and Greenland and taking back the Panama Canal.

Trump’s latest ideas on Gaza are even more vague. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Trump for his “outside the box” thinking. “You say things that people don’t want to say. After the shock, they admit you’re right,” he said.

Without further explanation from Trump, the White House and State Department have been busy trying to pull back on whether the Gaza move is a permanent change or whether it will involve US troops on the ground.

Mirette Mabrouk, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington, sees it differently. For Mabrouk, Trump is simply throwing out these outlandish ideas to distract people from more important political issues. Trump is trying to cover up the fact that he has not managed to bring down inflation as he promised. “All these important international issues, none of them contribute to the price of eggs,” she said.

Trump also came up with a strange idea as a negotiating tool. This tactic was used by Trump when he threatened tariffs on Mexico and Canada. The threat was stopped when Mexico and Canada agreed to take border security measures.

This tactic is in the 1987 book “The Art of the Deal.” Trump’s ideas were considered strange and few took him seriously. However, many did not find them strange because he was elected president of the United States twice.

Let alone his opponents, even Trump's allies are confused. During the campaign, Trump promised a government that would not waste American lives and taxpayer money on wars far from the US and other countries' development.

However, it turns out that Trump wants to use US power to take over and rebuild Gaza. Not to forget, there is the idea of seizing the Panama Canal and buying Greenland. There is a shift in Trump's rhetoric from "America First" to "America Everywhere".

“Peace efforts should be between Israel and Palestine. I think we have to put America first. We have no business occupying other territories that are going to destroy us,” said Senator Rand Paul, a Republican ally of Trump. His confusion was expressed in a social media post.

Immediately after Trump's comments on Gaza came out, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt rushed to clarify Trump's intentions. Both said that Trump did not mean to permanently relocate Gazans.

Rubio said Trump’s idea of taking ownership of Gaza and rebuilding it should be seen as an offer. “It’s not meant to be hostile. It’s a very generous offer. Like victims of a natural disaster, they need temporary housing to rebuild,” he said.

Leavitt also played down the prospect that Trump's plan would cost U.S. taxpayers. Leavitt said Trump would not deploy U.S. troops to Gaza. That's exactly what Trump has said before.

“It’s been very clear to the president that the United States needs to be involved in the rebuilding effort. This is to ensure stability in the region for everyone. But that doesn’t mean U.S. troops are in Gaza. That doesn’t mean American taxpayers are going to fund this effort,” he said.

Talk of expansionism in Gaza comes as Trump seeks to shut down the US Agency for International Development (USAID), a federal agency that provides critical aid to fund education and fight famine, epidemics and poverty abroad. Trump sees it as an example of government waste and the advancement of liberal social programs. (REUTERS/AFP/AP)