Angry New Yorkers Flood Midtown Streets to Protest President’s Return to Trump Tower
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Plenty of fire and fury greeted President Trump along Fifth Ave. in Manhattan on Monday when he made his first visit home since he took office seven months ago.
Thousands of protesters rallied outside the iconic Trump Tower skyscraper where the President is staying, while another group nearby staged a mock “die-in” and funeral for American values before marching to the main event.
Trump touched down at JFK about 8:30 p.m. and then boarded a helicopter for a quick ride to lower Manhattan, where a car took him to his Fifth Ave. home, New York Daily News reported.
A deafening chorus of “Shame! Shame! Shame!” rang out from protesters as the presidential motorcade entered a white tent covering the 56th St. underground entrance to Trump’s building.
Chants of “Lock him up!” and “New York hates you!” followed.
The crowds waiting for Trump had gathered hours earlier, fueled by outrage over the weekend’s deadly violence in Charlottesville, Va., and the President’s initial refusal to condemn the white supremacists involved.
An inflatable caricature of Trump as a big rat swayed above pedestrians near Grand Army Plaza on Fifth Ave. and 59th St.
A small group of roughly 16 pro-Trump supporters, penned in by police near the rat caricature, taunted demonstrators by shouting “Make America white again” and waving flags. Demonstrators also had to stay inside police pens in front of Trump Tower.
Sand-filled sanitation trucks were placed around the skyscraper as a barrier as cops shut down traffic on the busy avenue.
The crowd, which grew as night fell, swelled north to 59th St. and south to 54th St. Many held up yellow signs that said “Resign!”
Others brandished posters that said, “There is only one side on this, Mr. President,” a criticism of Trump’s poorly received remark on Saturday that the Charlottesville violence was an “egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides.”
Joel Graham, 59, who served in the Marines and is now a photographer, said Trump “let his cards slip” when he gave that speech.
“It’s disgraceful,” said Graham, adding support for Trump among the military isn’t as widespread as many think.
On Monday Trump made an effort at damage control by giving a harsher statement that clearly denounced the KKK and other hate groups.
“Racism is evil,” the President said, and added that white supremacists who take part in violence are “criminals and thugs.”
But it wasn’t enough to pacify the thousands of angry New Yorkers who flooded Fifth Ave. — or to lift his sagging approval rating above 34%, down a point from last week. It’s a new low for Trump, according to a Gallup Poll released Monday.
“Those are the people who got him elected,” Graham said of the white supremacists. “He’s gotta go.”
Emily Wells, 26, an elementary school teacher from Bayonne, N.J., said she was horrified by the death of Heather Heyer, the 32-year-old woman mowed down Saturday after a car crashed into demonstrators who were protesting a white supremacy rally.
The driver of the car, James Fields, 20, of Ohio, has been charged with second-degree murder.
“We’re a disgrace in the eyes of the world, and now we’re killing people,” said Wells. “The Trump administration was a disgrace from the start.”
Chants of “black lives matter” and “love, not hate — that’s what makes America great” grew louder as protesters from the “die-in” in front of the New York Public Library arrived at the night’s final destination.
A few blocks away, another protest formed at Columbus Circle, on its way to Trump Tower.
Benny Zable, 71, an Australian performance artist, said he didn’t buy what Trump was selling in his Monday statement.
“Everything he does is at the expense of immigrants and working class people,” Zable said.
“He’s not speaking up against right-wingers in Charlottesville because they’re his voting base,” he said.
The Australian also said he feared the ramped-up rhetoric between Trump and North Korea.
“What’s coming out of the President’s mouth is intimidating. Not only is he putting the United States in danger, but the whole world,” Zable said.
Hawk Newsome, 40, president of Black Lives Matter in New York, said his group had just returned from Charlottesville.
“It’s important to come and show solidarity. One thing we saw in Virginia is that the alt-right is very united and organized. We have to organize to fight back effectively,” Newsome said.
David Harold, 35, a security guard from the Bronx, said the weekend was “a new low” for the nation.
“I’m actually ashamed to be an American,” he said. “Our country is now led by a fascist, tyrannical racist, and those people in Charlottesville are the people who put him into office.”
By 11 p.m., the protests had mostly dispersed — and Trump took to twitter to express his delight at being back in the city.
“Feels good to be home after seven months, but the White House is very special, there is no place like it... And the US is really my home,” the President tweeted.
The NYPD said three people were arrested, two men and a woman. They were charged with reckless endangerment, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct, police said.
Iris Shamery, a senior from Jamaica, Queens, who runs a clothing store, said she’s given up hope that Trump can bring any dignity to the role of President.
“We are losing our place in the world. He’s preached nothing but lies. He undermines all things American,” she said. “He should have been presidential from day one, but what he really needs is a baby-sitter.”
