Tens of thousands marched throughout the United States on Thursday, May 1, in a continuation of the protests against Donald Trump’s drive to establish a presidential dictatorship, intensify the assault on the working class, and escalate US-led wars around the globe.
Many carried homemade signs opposing fascism, oligarchy and the attacks on immigrants and democratic rights.
More than 1,000 rallies were held throughout the US. They followed mass protests held on April 5 and April 19, which saw millions march. Polls show Donald Trump’s support dropping rapidly, with 39 percent approval ratings after barely three months in office.
In Washington D.C., an early protest at 7:30 am blocked rush hour traffic. Later in the morning and afternoon, several thousand marched from a site in Franklin Park to the White House.
Protesters called for the release of Kilmar Abrego García, a legal resident and father of three from El Salvador who was kidnapped by the Trump administration and illegally transported to a dangerous prison in his home country in March. The US government has refused court orders that Abrego García be returned to his family.
It has been “50 days of pain and suffering” for Abrego García and his family, stated his wife Jennifer Vasquez Sura as she spoke in front of the White House. Sura declared that her husband had been “thrown away to die in one of the most dangerous prisons in El Salvador with no due process because of an error.” Thousands chanted “free Kilmar!” and “let him go!” as she spoke.
In New York City, over 6,000 protested in the evening at Foley Square near City Hall. Several thousand protested in Chicago before marching toward the lakeside.
In Los Angeles, at least 6,000 protested downtown. Many waved signs reading “No Fascist USA,” “We Will Not Be Silent Against Tyranny,” and “Immigrants Built This Country.”
Cities which previously went to Trump, such as Mobile, Alabama; Wichita, Kansas; and Tulsa, Oklahoma, all registered protests from the dozens to the hundreds.
World Socialist Web Site reporting teams distributed thousands of leaflets promoting its International May Day event on Saturday “Socialism Against Fascism and War” and found strong agreement from a wide audience for its demands for a political break from the Democratic Party and a turn to building a genuine revolutionary international movement of the working class.
“One of the things we’re really trying to elevate today is that workers are immigrants and immigrants are workers. It’s inextricably linked, our struggle,” said a protester in Los Angeles.
“I think that the Abrego Garcia case was really stunning to most people because of the outright abuses against personal freedoms [being carried out,]” another protester said. “Everybody felt like ‘we’re next’ in a way.”
The protester denounced claims that the Democrats were the lesser evil or defenders of immigrants, noting “Obama deported more immigrants than the… presidents before him.”
“Then you have Biden, another mess, and now you have this fascist who is essentially implementing, intensifying, and bringing to a new level all of the measures that had already been implemented,” they said. Summing up the experience over the past years of social and political reaction, the protester stated “It’s like enough is enough.”
While the attitude of protesters were generally one of growing militancy and radicalism, many of the events were organized by the trade unions and other Democratic Party-affiliated organizations, which are seeking to derail opposition to Trump.
In Washington D.C., New York City and elsewhere, trade unions and other groups falsely tried to present the Democratic Party as a defender of the working class, offering the stage and microphone to representatives of this big business party of imperialism and war.
The largest event was in Philadelphia, as Senator Bernie Sanders hosted a “Fighting Oligarchy” rally in the city, bringing in tens of thousands in front of City Hall before marches commenced.
The hypocrisy meter hit its peak when Senator Sanders—who has praised Trump’s trade war, had pro-Palestine protesters thrown out at his events, and solidarized himself with Trump’s anti-immigration policies at the US border—declared that “May Day is, in a sense, a sacred holiday.”
“Over the last 50 years, the very richest people in this country have become much richer, while 800,000 people today sleep out on the street and the average worker struggles,” he declared. Sanders did not mention that it was the Biden administration, whom he had campaigned for and praised, which allowed billionaire wealth to increase by over a trillion dollars in 2024. This happened while homelessness doubled during his administration.
Several hundred people joined a demonstration in Detroit called by the May Day Coalition, including groups such as Moratorium Now, 50501 and others.
Frank Hammer, former president of UAW Local 909 at GM’s now-closed Warren Transmission Plant, addressed the demonstration, praising UAW President Shawn Fain, an avid promoter of Donald Trump’s trade war agenda, which has already led to layoffs of thousands at automakers and other manufacturers.
Despite the politically bankrupt outlook of the formal organizers, many attendees expressed frustration with the lack of perspective and program, and stopped to talk to supporters of the Socialist Equality Party, register for the SEP 2025 online May Day rally, and to purchase socialist literature from Mehring Books.
A retired nurse said, “Trump is doing what he said he would do. Our fears were not overblown.
“We can’t just sit here and be anxiety-ridden and do nothing. I told my former coworkers that I was coming to this today and told them to join me. I had actually wanted to go to the protest against Trump’s visit the other night, but my family was worried that it could get violent with the MAGA crowd so I sat that one out,” she said. “The fact that more people came to protest than to actually hear him speak is so important—none of that was even really reported in the media.”
A young administrative worker also attended the demonstration by herself and described her disillusionment with the Democratic Party paving the way for a Trump victory. “Harris was actively trying to convince people on the right to vote for her. I don’t think that is even the main reason she lost, but that caused a rift with a lot of people on the left who could barely stomach voting for her to prevent a Trump presidency.
“I think we cannot accept the things that are happening at the top,” she added. “We cannot accept the violence and the divisive rhetoric. We outnumber everybody in Washington. We outnumber all of the corporate CEOs, all the people who want nothing more than our money. It’s up to us.”