President Donald Trump, the Great Uniter, Sparks Another Protest

Remember way back in 2000 when former President George W. Bush promised to be "a uniter, not a divider?" Yeah, that didn't turn out too well, though those of us on the left did learn something from Bush's tenure, namely that it's a lot harder to emigrate to Canada than we hoped. Really, some people were actually talking about heading out to Canada or Mexico because Bush was president.

It seems almost quaint now. How naive we were.

Sadly, the prospect of heading off to the welcoming arms of Canucks seems even more remote these days, given President Donald Trump's desire to wage a trade war with the United States' largest trading partner or perhaps make Canada the 51st U.S. state. Still, let's give the devil his due. If the mix of people and causes on display at the  “March 4 Liberty” anti-Trump protest on Dealey Plaza is any indication, Trump's first weeks in office are uniting Americans better than Bush might have dreamed of.

Granted, Trump is "uniting" people much the same way a torpedo fired into the bowels of ship unites those on board by dumping them into the ocean, terrified of being eaten by sharks. But let's try to keep our eye on the silver lining here, thin as it is: There was an impressive range of ages, sexes and causes on display at Tuesday's protest, one of many organized nationwide by the group 50501, which also orchestrated a number of protests in January and February across the U.S.

All genders, ages and political affiliations were represented on the plaza, with signs supporting Ukraine, the U.S. Postal Service, federal workers, immigrants, LGBTQ people, the Forest Service, environmental causes, the Constitution and rule of law. Lots of signs critical of Elon Musk, too, as the South African continues on his path to become the epitome of "undesirable alien." (Yes, we know Musk is a naturalized U.S. citizen. Unlike those with birthright citizenship, though that can be revoked, as was the case for several former Nazis.)
Scott Connolly, 68 and a lifelong yellow dog Republican came from Fort Worth to downtown Dallas to lend his support for Ukraine. He'd always voted for GOP candidates, he said, but he never voted for Trump, who apparently is less suitable for office than a yellow dog.

"I'm astonished at what the party's turned in into," Connolly said. "... I'm very fearful for our democracy."

He'd never protested before, he added, "but I'm here because this is too important." Connolly said he lived two years in Syria under the regime of dictator Bashar El-Assad, so he's familiar with what life is like in an autocracy.

Connolly stood on the edge of the plaza next to April Dawkins of Dallas, who had three signs, all pointing out that America does not have kings — or at least hasn't had yet. Dawkins said she would have written a fourth sign, but ran out of ink.
"It doesn't really matter what your issues are, this administration is affecting all of them.

The activity near The Sixth Floor Museum on Tuesday afternoon came just hours before Trump gave a speech to a joint session of Congress.

Trump used the occasion to repeat many of his campaign talking points. During repeated cheers and jeers, Trump doubled down on his view that tariffs are good, Democrats are bad, the border is where bad people come from and that he is the only hope for American survival. The president had the obligatory applause of House Speaker Mike Johnson and Vice President JD Vance behind him, but some Dallas-based members of Congress didn't feel much like clapping.

"Trump doesn’t want border solutions—he wants a crisis he can exploit," wrote Democrat Julie Johnson, the freshman Rep. from the state's 32nd District, on X during Trump's lengthy address.

As expected Dallas' Jasmine Crockett, one of the most vocal opponents of Trump and his Republican base, wasn't in the mood to embrace the president's address. Crockett was one of the many Dems to walk out of the room during Trump's speech. Shortly after, she went live on her Instagram account. With other speech deserters behind her, Crockett made her response to Trump clear.

"He's up there, he's spewing all kinds of nonsense and bullshit, let me just be real," she said. "And we weren't just going to sit for that shit."