Hundreds rally around Palm Beach County
Hundreds of people gathered in Palm Beach County on Saturday, some to protest President Donald Trump and others to support him on the anniversary of his inauguration.
Signs being waved include those that read: “Impeach Trump,” “Lock him up,” and “Orange lies matter.”
Paula Slack, 55, of Boca Raton came with an American flag to protest Trump. She said she felt it was her duty to make her voice heard at Saturday’s march.
“People have the power, and we have to fight for change,” she said.
Sue Squassoni, 57, of West Palm Beach, said she worked all over the world for the United Nations and was disturbed by Trump’s remarks on “shithole countries.”
Many of her friends live in nations like Angola and Ethiopia. She brought her cocker spaniel, which wore a shirt that read, “Dogs for DACA.”
Michael Arguelles, 32, a nurse who lives in Tamarac, said he never was politically active until Trump was elected. “The second he won the election I became political,” he said. “I felt like I didn't have a choice.”
Bianca Chang-Gentile, 54, held a sign that read, “Cuban Women Against Trump.” She said she considers him to have authoritarian tendencies that remind her of the Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.
The crowd was peaceful and orderly, with police keeping everyone on the sidewalk and out of the street.
Meanwhile, a pro-Trump crowd of about 50 gathered in West Palm Beach, waving U.S. and “Make America Great Again” flags. As cars passed by members of the crowd shouted slogans: “Trump train,” “no amnesty for DACA; it’s a scam,” “President Trump 2020,” “we can’t let the Democrats make the U.S. a shit hole.”
Ruth Field Beck of Lantana said she often comes to the intersection at the western end of the bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway that leads toward Trump’s Mara-Lago resort.
Beck, 55, a small business owner, said she comes to show her support almost every weekend the president is expected at Mar-a-Lago. “I don’t think President Trump is a perfect man or perfect president,” she said. “I don’t think anybody is, but I think he really cares about us.”