President Trump has signed over 50 executive orders since coming into power. He has taken aim at eliminating DEI programs across the federal government and has declared that U.S. policy only recognizes two sexes, male and female.
Several protesters interviewed by MPB took issue with these directives.
Julie, an Army veteran from Ellisville who declined to give her name for fear of her son’s military career, said she drove to the capital city to protest against many of President Trump’s policies.
“I think I'm here, first of all, so that we can understand what's happening to our country,” she said. “I'm here for everyone. I'm here for the educational system. I'm here for civil rights. I'm here for the LGBTQ community. I'm here for people with disabilities. I'm here for Americans.”
Reverend Jim Becker is a minister at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Jackson and identifies as non-binary. They say they decided to protest out of concern for LGBTQ rights.
“We have trans people in our congregation,” Becker said. “We support trans rights heavily. We have a lot of LGBTQ folks and they're living in fear. I'm married to a man and who knows what's going to happen to us in that marriage.”
Jackson resident Jerry Knight says he came out to protest in order to save America’s democracy.
“Democracy is not dictatorship and all those things,” he said. “That's what seems to be moving, what we seem to be moving toward, a dictatorship. We need to do something different. We're going in a bad direction, in my opinion.”
One of President Trump’s executive orders established DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency. Led by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, there is a public outcry after agents of Musk’s DOGE gained access to the Treasury payment system. On Wednesday, the Trump administration entered into an agreement to restrict access to the system. However, the Washington Post has reported that DOGE agents have gained access to sensitive personal data maintained by the Office of Personnel Management.
The Trump administration has offered a buyout to federal employees, allowing them to be paid and receive benefits until September.
One protester demonstrating in Jackson, who is from Texas is a federal employee. She declined to give her name out of fear of retaliation.
“When we're removed from our agencies ,Congress will still approve monies for some of these agencies, but those agencies are no longer going to have employees,” she said. “They will have contractors. Who's going to control the contractors? Probably people like Elon Musk.”
Another protester, Anna Corcoran, is a university student from Brandon.
“I'm fighting for so many different things today,” she said. “I'm fighting for equality for everybody. No matter your race, your sexuality, your gender, fighting for equal pay. I'm fighting for rights to our own body.”
The demonstration was a part of a nationwide movement organized under the hashtag “50501,” which stands for 50 protests, 50 states, one day.
