They rallied in Washington, D.C., and in Boston, in Chicago and Concord, New Hampshire, in Milwaukee and Asheville, North Carolina, and in 1,300 other places. A combined attendance of at least a million people came together to send a message to the president and the man who purchased the co-presidency, Elon Musk. The message — hands off our Social Security, our Medicaid and Medicare, our 401(k) accounts, our immigrant brothers and sisters. Organized by MoveOn, and supported by hundreds of organizations, the turnout for the Hands Off movement may be a foundation for the necessary resistance to the oligarchical perfidy we can expect from this administration.
Many were attending mass events like this for the first time. They didn’t go to the Women’s March or to the rallies against racism. They came out this time because they are outraged at the lawlessness of this administration. Many were older, not the rallying kind, but they are apprehensive about what will happen with Social Security and other benefits. Others are federal employees, uncertain about their jobs and futures. There were teachers, nurses, attorneys, physicians, poor people and patriotic millionaires, from every demographic. The Hands Off rallies are the making of a movement.
There are a few more Hands Off events after April 5. Little Rock, Arkansas, canceled their planned gathering because of dangerous weather and will rally on April 12. Parts of Kentucky, managing catastrophic flooding, also postponed their gatherings for a week. The postponements are evidence of the urgency of this moment, and testimony to the focus and determination that the MoveOn team has exhibited. They seem committed to facilitating ways for people to come together, lift their voices and send a message.
Notably, the president signaled his indifference to this rousing movement by silently playing golf, failing to react, except to tout the “success” of his sweeping tariffs. Instead of lowering prices “on day one” as he promised, he is sparking world economic chaos that will be especially harmful for people on the bottom. Like Nero “fiddling while Rome burns,” this destructive administration seems apathetic to the pain they are causing.
No one should be surprised by this administration’s reckless disregard for the Constitution, for human rights, civil rights and the order of law. Project 2025 details all of these actions, but some people don’t believe that fat meat is greasy. In other words, they heard what the president said he was going to do, but didn’t believe him. Now that their jobs are being eliminated, their relatives being deported and their food prices are rising, they are saying “we didn’t vote for this.” The massive nature of the Hands Off suggests resistance to this administration’s policies transcends the grousing of a few left-wing activists and Trump detractors. Instead, many who voted for the current order are now experiencing buyer’s remorse.
April 5 was a statement, but what’s next? Will people mobilize? Will some of the nonvoters get registered and ready for the 2026 elections? Will the tremendous energy of April 5 encourage people to get involved in state and local politics, perhaps running for office or supporting candidates that reject the extremism of this administration, and demand more than the platitudes about “a little bit of pain”? It’s easy for some to talk about a “little bit” of pain, but some will find the pain imposed by this administration unbearable, especially those with lower incomes.
The MoveOn team and the organizations that supported Hands Off must keep the momentum going. Otherwise, April 5 will be simply an exciting activist moment. Justice demands a movement, one that is transformative, and also encourages the bipartisan conversation that this administration has avoided. They keep talking about their “mandate,” but the current president did not win in a popular vote landslide. Instead, he won by 2.28 million votes, or a margin of 1.47 percent. He won through voter suppression, but also through the nonparticipation of many who are learning, the hard way, what’s at stake.
There were some young Black activists, especially Black women, who encouraged people to avoid the rallies. My cursory view (along with some reporting) suggests that while the speakers and entertainment “looked like America” the crowd looked whiter than reality. Some Black folks have activism fatigue, and we all get it. Author Tricia Hersey’s book “Rest is Resistance,” is a reminder that Black women cannot be everything to everybody. She writes, “You were not just born to center your existence on work and labor. You were born to heal, to grow, and to be of service to yourself and community, to practice, to experiment, to create, to have space, to dream and to connect.” Balance is the key and resistance is important, invigorating and transformative.
Those who oppose this administration’s policies are among those who gathered on April 5. Now they must keep their opposition going in the months to come. Thanks, again, MoveOn, and thanks to all who turned out. The Hands Off website (handsoff2025.com) has information about a May 1 action. Check it out!
Malveaux, a former college president, is an economist, author and commentator based in Washington, D.C.
Your article states, “She writes, ‘You were not just born to center your existence on work and labor’…” Actually, the LORD God addressed this very issue with me when he called me to be his prophet back in 1985 and again in 1995. Still prevalent today and probably will be until He calls me home to himself. Jeremiah 20:18 reads, “Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see labour and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?” So DC is going to experience “a little bit of pain” and by extension, the USA, and all nations. It is the word of God that is active at this time.