Hundreds of protesters gathered outside Cincinnati City Hall on Tuesday to vocalize their anger for President Donald Trump’s early actions during his second term.
Common themes among protest signs reflect worry over Trump’s relationships with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, world’s richest man Elon Musk, among other concerns.
“We outnumber the oligarchs,” read one sign.
“Putin’s puppet,” read another, this time alongside an image of a dancing Trump marionette.
Sarah O’Haver took it a dimension further, bringing a sign-wielding puppet: “Trump is Putin’s Puppet.”
“I mean, you ask yourself growing up, what would I do if Hitler was becoming a thing?” O’Haver said. “What we do is now.”
Cathy Wayman’s sign read: “When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty.”
“I’ve been watching and watching and watching, and I finally said, ‘I need to go down and at least participate,’” Wayman told CityBeat. “The gut-punch was with Ukraine, with Zelenskyy. That made me cry.”
Wayman began to tear up while reflecting on the Oval Office meeting – an emotional reaction to an extremely tense moment in American history between two allies. Trump and Vice President JD Vance publicly berated Zelenskyy during a press event last week, accusing him of ingratitude for financial support as Ukraine continues to fight a Russian invasion.
“You’re gambling with World War III,” Trump repeatedly told Zelenskyy, who was there to sign a mineral rights deal with the U.S. in exchange for aid.
Trump has placed his foot firmly on the gas since his return to office on Jan. 20. High-volume cuts to the federal workforce, numerous executive orders targeting LGBTQIA+ rights, the historic Oval Office argument over the war in Ukraine – Wayman told CityBeat she wants people to use their voices instead of tuning out an overwhelming news cycle.
“I’ve been there, it gets you down,” she said. “All you can do is go to town halls. I go online a lot, I watch the Democrats and I watch the Republicans, and you just got to get some feel good stories to lift you up. This [protest] has really been a lift-up for me. It shows me there’s a lot more people out there that care than I thought.”
The protest was organized by the national 50501 group, a self-described grassroots coalition movement “committed to resisting authoritarianism and standing up for justice, workers’ rights, and marginalized communities.” The City Hall demonstration was one of dozens across the country, with the goal of 50 protests in 50 states on one day.
“As the political climate grows more volatile, we refuse to accept fascism as the status quo,” wrote the organization in a press email. “This demonstration will bring together activists, community leaders, and concerned citizens to demand accountability, fairness and a future where all people can live without fear.”
One of those community leaders was Ryan Shearer, Vice President of the Cincinnati Federation of Teachers.
“Fellow Ohioan and former president Ulysses S. Grant gave a speech in 1875, right around the end of his presidency,” Shearer told the crowd through a bull horn. “[Grant] said, ‘The free school is the promoter of that intelligence, which is to preserve us as a free nation.’ If we are to have another contest in the near future of our national existence, I predict that the dividing line will not be Mason–Dixon, but between patriotism and intelligence on one side and then superstition, ambition and ignorance on the other. I am choosing to be on the patriots’ side.”
Shearer is concerned about Trump’s campaign promise to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education, which would require congressional approval. NBC News reported in February that the White House is preparing an executive order to eliminate the Education Department, according to two sources familiar with the plans. Trump has already issued executive orders that direct the Education Department and other federal agencies to end “funding or support for illegal and discriminatory treatment and indoctrination” in K-12 schools, including “gender ideology and equity ideology.”
Trump’s orders threaten federal funding for public schools that don’t comply.
“Our public schools serve 90% of these kids,” Shearer said. “We have to do something to make sure that we are continually funding them and putting them in the best position to be active members of society, so that we can build good economies, so that we can have equal rights and everybody can work a job that gives them dignity.”
During Trump’s address to Congress on Tuesday, Republican and Democratic lawmakers were constantly at odds, attempting to drown out the opposition with jeers or chants of “USA!” While Democratic lawmakers are effectively powerless in a Republican trifecta, constituents have been turning out in droves at town hall meetings across the country, demanding accountability and action from representatives on both sides of the aisle. This includes some Republican voters who have spoken out during Republican-led town halls, furious about Trump’s proposed cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs, which provides health care for retired military members. The agency is planning to cut 80,000 jobs, according to an internal memo obtained by the AP – 25% of VA workers are veterans. The move is part of a large federal downsizing effort led by billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficacy, or DOGE.
“I’m not a Democrat, but I’m worried about the veterans,” said a Kansas man during a town hall for U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall (R). Marshall walked out of the town hall after the question, sparking backlash on social media audiences after a video of the exchange went viral.
Trump has brushed off the town hall blowback, claiming – without evidence – that the vocal attendees are really “paid troublemakers.” But even his own social media pages have seen rare instances of criticism from the MAGA world following his return to office.
In February, Trump posted a bizarre AI-generated video of “Trump Gaza” with outright displays of authoritarian symbols. The video on Trump’s Instagram and Truth Social accounts includes a giant golden Trump statue, a child with a golden Trump head balloon, a gift shop with hundreds of golden Trump statues and more. The video crossed a line for some MAGA supporters.
“I’m a Trump supporter and what the fuck is this….” reads just one of 63,000 comments on the Instagram post.
“I hate this. I love our president, but this is horrible,” reads a comment on Trump’s own Truth Social platform.
Trump’s victory was clear in the 2024 race with a wide Electoral College victory of 312 to 226, but his recent actions offer a rare glimpse into the dividing line within the MAGA movement. CityBeat asked Tuesday’s protesters what they would say to one of these Republicans, be it at a town hall or in a comment section.
“I think they need to rally the Republicans to get on the right side and be for the people and stop this man from doing what he’s doing,” Wayman said. “He’s tearing our country apart. They need to rally their people and get them back where they belong.”
“I would say, I think we all understand that our government has had some waste in terms of money,” Shearer said. “I don’t think that’s a hidden secret by any means on either party, and I think we can all maybe get along with making some cuts in certain areas. But what I don’t understand is why all the cuts that we keep seeing are things that are affecting the middle class.”
“We want to talk to you, we want to work with you,” O’Haver said. “And as soon as we get rid of this horribly divisive figure, maybe we can.”
Keep scrolling for photos from Tuesday’s 50501 protest outside Cincinnati City Hall.
Photos by Aidan Mahoney
Follow CityBeat’s staff news writer Madeline Fening on Instagram. Got a news tip? Email mfening@citybeat.com.
