Mass protests against Trump administration staged in US, Europe

BEIJING -- Hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered in dozens of cities across the United States and Europe on Saturday to protest the controversial policies of US President Donald Trump's administration, including the imposition of so-called "reciprocal tariffs," the shutdown of federal agencies and the deportation of immigrants.

In the United States, around 600,000 people joined over 1,400 protests across all 50 states under the theme of "Hands Off," according to the organizers.

Organized by a coalition of more than 150 groups, including civil rights organizations, labor unions and veterans' associations, demonstrators gathered at state capitols, federal buildings, congressional offices, Social Security Administration headquarters, city halls and public parks.

"This peaceful movement is powered by everyday people — nurses, teachers, students, parents — who are rising up to protect what matters most. We are united, we are relentless, and we are just getting started," said Rahna Epting, executive director of the activist group MoveOn.

"We're here fighting for the soul of America," Angela C, a protester in Los Angeles, told Xinhua. "Do we remain the guiding light for progress, compassion, and fairness in the world as funding fathers dreamt of? Or follow Trump to become another pathetic bully with a big stick out to exploit all the other countries in the world?"

Some elected officials joined the campaign as well. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said she doesn't want her children and others to live in a world where threats and intimidation are the means of government and values such as diversity and peace are under attack.

In response to the protests, the White House said in a statement that "President Trump will not be deterred from delivering on the promises he made to make our federal government more efficient and more accountable to the hardworking American taxpayers across the country who overwhelmingly re-elected him," according to USA Today.

Protests were also held in European cities such as Berlin, Frankfurt, Paris, London and Lisbon. In Berlin, hundreds of people gathered outside a Tesla showroom to protest against Tesla's owner, Elon Musk, who is also a close ally of Trump. In London, protesters rallied at Trafalgar Square, holding signs reading "Proud American Ashamed" and chanting "Hands off Canada" and "Hands off Greenland."

The marches in Europe came just days after Trump imposed a 20 percent "reciprocal" tariff on EU imports, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attended his first NATO foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels earlier this week — widely viewed as an effort to manage tensions between the two sides of the Atlantic ahead of the NATO leaders' summit in June.