How Trump 2 0 Protests Compare To His First Term Newsweek

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Dec 31, 2025, 12:05 AM

how trump 2 0 protests compare to his first term newsweek

It's been nearly six months since the reelection of President Donald Trump, and so far during his second term, the headlines have been filled with news of protests across the country. From "Not My President's Day" demonstrations in February and the coordinated "No Kings Day" protests in June, which coincided with the president's 79th birthday, to anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles last month, thousands of... But how do these protests compare with those during Trump's first term? With sweeping "Free America" protests due over the July 4 weekend, Newsweek spoke to experts to find out more about activism under Trump 2.0. "The simplest thing is, a much larger number of protests," Sid Tarrow, an associate member of the law faculty and Maxwell M. Upson Professor Emeritus Government Department at Cornell Law School, told Newsweek in a phone call.

Dana Fisher, director of the Center for Environment, Community & Equity and a professor at America University, echoed this, telling Newsweek via email that although "Resistance 2.0 has taken longer to build momentum," there... U.S. President Donald Trump has been a disruptive force since he burst onto the political scene a decade ago — but the pace of change in the first year of his second presidency is unlike... Since his inauguration in January, Trump has upended the global trade order with a sweeping new tariffs scheme, radically curtailed immigration while deploying enforcement agents to round up migrants en masse and issued pink... Trump has waded into global conflicts, wielding economic threats to try and bring conflicts to a close — sometimes successfully, as he claims was the case in the Middle East. He has used his bully pulpit to do everything from goading Texas into redistricting its congressional maps for his benefit to shaming the late Hollywood star Rob Reiner for his liberal views mere hours...

While his legislative agenda has been relatively light, Trump’s party passed a turbocharged One Big Beautiful Bill, omnibus legislation that slashes taxes and cuts federal health programs while dismantling climate-friendly initiatives. USAID is a shell of its former self and the federal body that helped support public broadcasting was shut down after Trump, in what has become an unusual presidential manoeuvre, encouraged Congress to claw... A major protest has been planned on the first anniversary of President Donald Trump's second term in office. Feminist group Women's March, which launched in the wake of Trump's 2016 election victory, is planning a walkout protest called Free America, scheduled to take place on January 20, 2026. Rachel O'Leary Carmona, the executive director of Women's March, told Newsweek: "The Free America Walkout tests whether people are willing to stop cooperating with a government that causes harm. It is a protest and an assessment about the ways we are prepared to refuse to comply with unjust policies and to act together in different, powerful ways."

She added, "Because this action happens during the workweek, participation and outcomes are harder to predict. The Walkout is a stress test to understand the depth of support and whether our base is able to sustain resistance through stepping back from work and spending."We are constantly assessing risk and backlash... Under Trump’s leadership, free speech and free assembly have been attacked, and federal power has been used to intimidate and punish dissent. Naming that reality is not alarmist. It is responsible, and it is why we prioritize preparation, discipline, and collective action."We do not communicate with the Trump Administration." Since assuming office, Trump has been hit with multiple coordinated protests from groups.

While Trump still commands support from his base, strong opposition to his administration could affect his credibility and legacy and hamper his efforts to implement his agenda. When President Trump took office in 2017, it was a shock to the political system. But his first term looks downright tame compared to the first 100 days of Trump 2.0. Today marks 100 days since President Trump took office, and last night, he celebrated with a rally in Michigan. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: We've accomplished more in three months than most administrations accomplished in four years or even eight years, and we're just getting started. Believe me, we're just getting started.

INSKEEP: NPR senior White House correspondent Tamara Keith has us look at what has changed since Trump's first term. TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE: When Trump came into office in 2017, it was a shock to the political system, but his first term looks downright tame compared to 100 days of Trump 2.0. And a lot of that has to do with Trump putting his stamp, or rather, his large Sharpie signature, on the government and the nation's institutions with incredible speed and intensity. It started on inauguration day as Staff Secretary Will Scharf presented him with one executive action after another. 2020 presidential election overturning attempts Multiple protests have been held across the United States and other countries against U.S.

president Donald Trump since his 2024 re-election. Demonstrations have been held to protest and show disapproval for promises he made during his 2024 re-election campaign, proposals he has made to various domestic and international matters and decisions and policies he has... While many protests and actions have been led by pre-existing organisations, there has also been a large amount of organising and attendance by the wider public alongside action taken during non-political events such as... On November 6, the day after Trump's re-election, protesters gathered in San Jose and Berkeley, California,[1] downtown Cleveland,[2] Chicago,[3] New York City,[3] and Philadelphia[3] to protest border militarization and the Gaza war.[1][3] Protesters outside... Nashville, TennesseeYESTERDAY’S NATIONWIDE “NO KINGS” protest against Donald Trump was, by all accounts, a smashing success. Millions of people showed up at hundreds of events in red and blue state houses and town centers across the country all in the spirit of rallying against the Trump administration.

The crowds dwarfed those that came to Washington D.C. to participate in Trump’s combination birthday/armed forces parade. And while that certainly provided Trump’s opponents with a fair share of schadenfreude, it also raised the question: Why hasn’t this type of resistance risen up sooner? After all, Trump’s first term saw opponents sprinting to the nation’s airports within weeks of his inauguration to protest his ban on travel from Muslin-majority nations. When Trump did a more expansive version of that same policy several weeks ago, the response was relatively mild and diffuse. Though there have been glimpses of real grassroots energy—from the Tesla Takedown movement to the “Hands Off!” rallies—these moments of light and heat showed how dim and cold the once-ubiquitous #Resistance movement had become...

That is how it was, at least, until Saturday. The “No Kings” protests offered the first real sign that the grassroots resistance to Trump hasn’t died—but it does look different from how it did, and it may, perhaps, be taking a more strategic... The Bulwark has always taken a “strategic form.” Become a free or paid subscriber, and see what the political landscape looks like from a higher vantage point.

How Trump 2 0 Protests Compare To His First Term Newsweek

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