More than 10,000 protesters gathered in New York City on Presidents Day to speak against the current Trump administration and the shares in particular of the Efficiency Department of the Government of Elon Musk (Doge).
It was one of Several protests which took place on Monday in the main cities throughout the country and arrived during the same long weekend as smaller protests sprouted in Tesla’s concessionaires A naughty field.
The protesters who spoke with Techcrunch of Washington Square Park, expressed concerns about Doge’s access to the confidential data of millions of Americans and the dismantling of the group of federal agencies. They said that they see Musk’s work with Dege as a veiled attempt of a financial power, and expressed his frustration that Musk, an un chosen official, has gained unprecedented levels of power over the federal government.
“I think it’s extremely dangerous that [Musk] He has access to our personal data, ”he told Techcrunch Dmitri, 53, an architect who asked that his last name be used. “It is a kind of futuristic fanboy that basically lives in a fantasy of science fiction and tries to implement that, and has the resources to do massive amounts of damage. He is playing with something that does not really understand.”
A 55 -year -old retired teacher who identified himself only as Tom and who had a sign that said: “No one voted for Musk,” he told TechCrunch: “As much as I don’t like the fact that a significant number of Americans voted for Trump By Trump, it is absolutely the case that nobody voted for Musk. ”
Tom said he did not believe that Maga’s average defender would vote for Musk and worried that Doge’s cuts were hurting Americans at the state, local and individual level.
“The consolidation of power under billionaires is something scary,” he said.
Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office to create Dux, giving Musk, the multimillionaire owner of Spacex, Tesla, X and other companies, the reins to eliminate the fraud of the government, the waste and the abuse of dollars of dollars of Taxpayers.
Since then, Doge has shot Almost 10,000 federal workers Those who handled everything from administering federal lands to care for military veterans. Other 75,000 workers They have accepted the purchase proposal of the Trump administration, which at the end of January offered federal workers eight months of payment and benefits to leave their positions if they resigned in early February. Doge also has Cut 104 government contracts Related to programs for diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility and dismantled the United States Agency for International Development.
Trump also gave the Dux de Musk team Access to digital payments of the Treasury Department The system, which controls billions of dollars in payments to Americans, from social security benefits to tax reimbursements, despite the questions about their security authorizations, their cybersecurity practices and the legality of Musk’s activities.
Trump and Musk supporters applaud their paper efforts to eliminate corruption, inefficiency and bureaucracy. The opponents oppose the way Doge is doing their declared objectives, and warn that team actions will lead to more corruption and National Security Risks.
A wave of legal challenges He has followed that they allege a lack of transparency and Data privacy violations.
The protesters in New York began in Union Square and marched to Washington Square Park, congregating under the iconic commemorative arch dedicated to George Washington, the first president of the nation. They sang “Hey, Hey, Ho, Ho, Elon Musk has to leave,” and signs that promoted a variety of causes, but musk and dux were a common theme at all times.
The New York Police Department estimated that the number of attendees was more than 10,000.
Victoria, who identified herself as a 37 -year -old teacher, had a sign that said: “Stop the coup”, comments made to The Guardian on Monday by the Attorney General of Arizona, Kris Mayes, who said He said to the exit“In the US, we appeal decisions with which we do not agree: we do not ignore the judicial orders or threaten the judges with accusation just because we do not like the decision. This is a coup d’etat, simple and simple. “
“It is not that we disagree with republican policies,” said Victoria, who faced the cold winds that whipped the city, where, although sunny temperatures were around 32 degrees Fahrenheit. “It is the fact that Trump has delivered the power of the bag to Elon Musk, which is not chosen.”
While people played music and shouted songs, their homemade signs got up on their heads, a 39 -year -old small company who identified as Corwin said of Musk: “He is so in conflict and is so clear that his antiregulatory attitudes Lo They benefit personally and finally. ”
Musk has signed several agencies for reduction or dismantling that regulates the industries in which their companies operate. Earlier this month, Musk said he wants to eliminate the consumer financial protection office, which would regulate the planned expansion of X to financial services, publishing in his social network X “RIP CFBP“Scored with a tombstone emoji. He has declared the intention of going after the Federal Aviation Administration, an agency that has faced before and one that regulates Spacex. He has also asked Finish a rule That requires car manufacturers to inform blockages when autonomous driving technology is activated.
Musk actions at the federal level have affected Tesla’s brand image. During the profits of the quarter quarter of 2024 of the car manufacturer, the analyst Thomas Monteir , among other things “,”, “.Severe brand devaluation. “
The stories are emerging from people who sell their teslas for the desire not to support Musk’s businesses. Some Cybertruck owners have reported vandalism cases and harassment. The sales of the automobile manufacturer, which were already beginning to suffer due to the increase in competition in the market and an obsolete alignment, have begun to plummet in Europe after a Musk gesture, at the opening of the president, was interpreted by many as a Nazi greeting. Poland Sports and Tourism Minister Slawomir Nitras pressed for a Tesla boycottand in Germany, Several companies have Ties with Tesla in reaction to Musk’s support for both Trump and for the alternative of the extreme right -right political party for Germany (AFD).