Trump protest stays peaceful
The signs read “Dump Trump,” “There is no Planet B” or “Build bridges, not walls,” among scores of others. And for the roughly 200 people who congregated on East 32nd Street near the Yuma County Fairgrounds, across from the Marine Corps Air Station where President Donald Trump visited Tuesday, the day was a success.
The protesters lined along the side of the road and spanned the block from South Avenue 2 1/2 E to Avenue 3E in a peaceful display of protest against the president.
The co-founders of Yuma County Indivisible organized the event Saturday morning when they first heard Trump would be stopping by Yuma before his scheduled rally at the Phoenix Convention Center Tuesday night. After meeting to discuss the matter, the group had the event planned and ready to
go, distributing the details through their Facebook group.
The key to the protest, for the local Indivisible group, was peace. Aside from a heated argument between two Trump supporters and two protesters, and some rude hand gestures out of car windows directed at the protestors, the event unfolded without disturbance.
“Our main thing is peace,” said Doug Jennings, co-founder of Yuma County Indivisible. “If you’re going to communicate, you can’t be doing it arguing at each other; nobody’s going to listen. In order to actually sit down and listen, somebody has to be quiet. The No. 1 thing we focused on, is safety — don’t bring any items that can be used like a weapon, or anything that looks like a weapon.”
Yuma County Indivisible sprung from the women’s march, which took place after the inauguration. Jennings and the other cofounders knew of Indivisible and wanted to start a branch in Yuma.
Trump’s visit Tuesday marked the first time in a decade a president has been to Yuma. President George W. Bush came to Yuma in 2006 and 2007.
Edward Snook, who was among the protesters Tuesday, was doing the same in 2006 during Bush’s first visit. He was the only protester.
“I miss (Bush) now, and I was so opposed to him,” Snook said. “I would love to have him be president instead of Trump right now; that’s how much I hate Trump.”
Going from an activist group of one 11 years ago to hundreds on Tuesday was heartening for Snook, especially with this being Yuma County — a county for which Trump won the general election over Hillary Clinton by 1.1 percent and beat out runner-up Ted Cruz in the Arizona Republican primary in March 2016 by nearly 9 percent.
“Yuma’s a pretty conservative town, and this is during the workweek,” Snook said. “Think about how many people couldn’t get off (work) and would like to be here.
“It’s very encouraging, and I think so many people are here because there’s so much frustration of how divisive he is. It’s great to be able to express ourselves.”
There were roughly 30 supporters of President Trump on the other side of South Avenue 2 1/2E. The two crowds, divided by an intersection, rarely intersected.
A recent development that ignited activism among these Yuma protesters was the incident in Charlottesville, Va., and the resulting death of Heather Heyer, who was among those in the counter-protest of the “Unite the Right” rally of white supremacists on Aug. 12, as well as the president’s response to Charlottesville.
“It was just Trump being Trump, and it adds fuel to the fire,” Snook said. “He just keeps proving who he is. … He’s a disgrace; he truly is deplorable. We need to show the world and our fellow countrymen that America isn’t as deplorable as he is.”
“He was on the side of the white supremacists, not on the side of the people,” protester Margarita Keath said. “He’s the president, and so far he’s been showing that he’s the president for the few, for his base, not for the whole (of) America. I watch him, and if I had to praise him for something good, I would; but the only thing he (says are) lies. He’s against the media, and I think that’s bad. I’ve never heard a president doing that, except for Nixon. But Nixon is an angel compared to this one. And I don’t know how long we can take this.”
Keath said two members of her family voted for Trump last November, but noted, “Right now, they are sorry that they did that. They regret it.”
As for how Trump has affected or could affect Yuma County, an issue that was brought up on multiple occasions, and through the words on many signs, was health care. A repeal of the Affordable Care Act, known informally as Obamacare, was rejected by the U.S. Senate on July 26. It was the second rejection of a repeal through Congress, but the threat of reducing or eliminating health care for approximately 20 million Americans, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, still lingers.
“I can’t afford for the laws to be rewritten so these insurance companies can either price me out of my care or drop me altogether for my pre-existing condition,” said Sally Collins, a protester who is a two-time survivor of breast cancer.
There were those at the protest affiliated with Yuma County Indivisible and those who independently wanted to protest the president as Air Force One landed at the Marine base in Yuma. But for all who lined a block of 32nd Street, Tuesday’s turnout showed this assembly that there is progress in their efforts against the current president of the United States.
“It made my heart feel good,” Collins said. “I was concerned that we might be outnumbered, and it certainly hasn’t turned out that way; it’s the other way around, for sure. … I’m proud of this county. I do think there are people who voted for Trump in this county that have now come to their senses and regret their decision.”
“During the campaign, I was protesting with signs … and it was only my husband and I; nobody came around,” Keath said. “But it seems like people are waking up and seeing what this can be, that we have to fight this. The people are coming around, and I hope the same thing happens in Phoenix. We’ve got to fight this guy back. We’ve got to fight for justice.”