A multiracial, multigenerational crowd of roughly 300 people gathered at Orlando City Hall on Presidents Day Monday, as part of a national day of action protesting the agenda of President Donald Trump, his administration, and his billionaire allies — some of whom, like Elon Musk, have been given free rein by Trump to downsize the federal government and fire thousands of staff across various federal agencies.
“We may have been a silent majority, but our time to change the world is now, as one unified front in support of human rights for all,” said Matt Ouellette, a veteran and speaker at the Orlando event.
More than 140 protest actions, rallying against Trump’s agenda on issues such as immigration policy, education and LGBTQ+ rights, were scheduled nationwide on Monday. One organizer of the Orlando action said 15 to 16 actions had been organized in Florida, an increasingly red state that gave Trump 56 percent of the vote in 2024.
The protest action in downtown Orlando — a relatively blue pocket of the Sunshine State — was organized with the backing of organizations such as the Florida chapter of the National Organization for Women, Central Florida Progressive Caucus, the National LGBTQ Task Force, the Orange County Environmental Democratic Caucus, Orlando for Peace and the Seminole County Democratic Party among others.
Organizers notified the Orlando Police Department of their plans ahead of time and secured a “free speech permit” in order to gather more than 100 people on public property in compliance with city law.
Cops, however, directed speakers to put away their bullhorns. One organizer told Orlando Weekly that their loudspeaker permit request had been denied.
“They can take away our microphone,” one woman shouted, as nearly two dozen Orlando Police Department officers stood across the street. “But they cannot take away our voice.”
Speakers at the protest included representatives of LGBTQ+ rights groups including Equality Florida, as well as veterans, indigenous activists and representatives of local progressive groups.
Orlando’s community of artists showed up with a wide range of creative signs targeting largely Musk and Trump, displaying messages such as “Fire Elon,” “Only you can protect federal workers and parks,” “Hands off veterans’ benefits” and “We’re all immigrants, you f*cking cheeto.”
Bob Katz, an Orlando resident of 30 years, told Orlando Weekly he was driven to attend the protest over concerns about proposals to cut funding to programs such as Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security that serve millions of Americans.
The future of funding for these programs is uncertain, even as Trump continues to fork billions of dollars over to Israel amid an ongoing war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians in the Middle East, including civilians. Most expect Medicaid — a public healthcare program for low-income and pregnant people — to be put on the chopping block.
“I feel that eventually they’re going to start making cuts,” said Katz. Medicaid providers across the country, including those in Central Florida, earlier this month were thrown into a tailspin after a plan to freeze trillions of dollars in federal funding was announced by Trump administration officials with little notice.
The proposed funding freeze, expected to affect everything from federally funded housing assistance to veterans services and infrastructure projects, was challenged in court by a coalition of nonprofits, and has been blocked, at least for now.
Trump has also given Musk — a tech billionaire and potentially unconstitutional administrator of Trump’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — the go-ahead to access sensitive data, including Treasury Department payment systems. Musk’s cost-cutting task force is also reportedly requesting access to Internal Revenue Service tax data for individuals and businesses, according to CBS News.
Katz said “the illegalities that Trump and Musk are doing” and “the fact that Congress hasn’t grown a spine” brought him out to the Orlando protest, which was organized as part of the 50501 movement — standing for 50 states, 50 protests, 1 day.
Others in attendance, including Amelia Burgos — a Puerto Rican transgender woman, mother and 13-year military veteran — similarly expressed concern about the direction of the country and what’s to come next.
After transitioning in 2022, and feeling a brief sense of “relief” and joy, Burgos said the onslaught of state laws passed in Florida targeting trans people, as well as federal directives from the Trump administration, have been an unexpected blow.
“I was so blinded by that relief that I didn’t understand what was happening, what was in store for me and others like me,” said Burgos, who now works for Equality Florida. “In the coming years came attacks on [transgender people’s] health care, on our youth, on our athletes, on our character, on our right to serve, on our ability to go to the fucking bathroom and our right to exist.”
Her joy quickly turned to fear. “That fear lingered and slowly turned into anger. And that anger turned into purpose, and that’s why I’m here,” she declared.
A wide range of executive orders signed by Trump since he took office directly target transgender people, including orders that seek to ban transgender people from military service, eliminate the concept of “gender identity,” and ban transgender athletes from participating in men and women’s sports.
The Trump administration also sought to halt federal funding for gender-affirming treatments for transgender people under the age of 19, such as reversible hormone blockers, nationwide — an effort that has since been blocked by two federal judges.
“Trump has disassembled access to health care for transgender people, access to studies and support and resources,” said Jude Speegle, a transgender advocate, parent and co-organizer of the event. “I imagine it is more isolating than ever to be a trans kid right now.”
In Florida, President’s Day protest actions were also organized in Tampa, Venice and Fort Myers, as well as Miami, West Palm Beach — a stone’s throw from Trump’s Mar-A-Lago estate — and Fort Pierce in St. Lucie County, which is majority Republican.
Organizers of the Orlando event said they will be staging another protest rally on March 5, 2025, and urged attendees to get organized, call their Congressional representatives, and have conversations within their own friend and family circles about the Trump administration’s actions so far — less than one month into Trump’s four-year term.
“The humanity makes its way through the cracks of the rubble,” said Speegle. “Always, always, always.”
