From the Barton village square to the South Royalton green, the sidewalks of downtown Brattleboro to the brick walkway of Church Street in Burlington, thousands of Vermonters rallied Saturday afternoon in opposition to President Donald Trump and his policies.
In Brattleboro a large crowd gathered in front of the Centre Congregational Church on Main Street to listen to U.S. Rep. Becca Balint speak.
鈥淚 know all too many folks are feeling paralyzed by the sheer number of things that are coming at us,鈥� Balint said. 鈥淏ut we can鈥檛 let ourselves give in to paralysis because that鈥檚 what they鈥檙e counting on. That鈥檚 why it鈥檚 so exciting to see all you out here today.鈥�
And she encouraged people to continue their activism beyond the rainy streets of Brattleboro, her hometown.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not enough just to show up online. It鈥檚 not even just to show up out here,鈥� Balint said. 鈥淲e have to use our voices in places that are uncomfortable. You can鈥檛 just talk to the people who agree with you. We have to show up and have uncomfortable conversations with our families, with our friends, with our community members. It is not about left or right, it is about our nation. It is about our Democracy.鈥�
After Balint spoke the crowd headed north, toward the Brattleboro Common, where they gathered, and sang, and listened to other speakers.
The events, called 鈥淗ands Off,鈥� were organized separately as part of a decentralized effort by a variety of activist groups. The groups claimed to have 1,000 protests planned across the country.
In Orleans County, one of two counties in Vermont where voters cast more ballots for Trump than former Vice President Kamala Harris, dozens of residents gathered on a public green in downtown Barton.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a very red area,鈥� said Westmore resident Joanna Burgess.
Burgess said the comparatively conservative politics of the region make public protests an even more important statement than in liberal bastions like Montpelier or Burlington.
鈥淧eople are afraid to come out up here. People are afraid to speak out. They鈥檙e afraid to get yelled at,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o I think showing folks that there are other folks who not only are coming out, but want you to join them, is important.鈥�
Sheffield resident Keith Ballek held a sign that read, 鈥淣o kings in the Kingdom.鈥�
鈥淚t shouldn鈥檛 be a monarchy in Washington, it should be a democracy. They鈥檙e running things like a king,鈥� he said.
Ballek said he hopes widespread protests against the Trump administration 鈥� he鈥檚 particularly concerned about the recent arrests of university students detained for their political views 鈥� will shake his Kingdom neighbors out of the 鈥渇og.鈥�
鈥淚 hope this is the beginning of something and I hope it just keeps growing and growing, because I know things are going to keep getting worse if we don鈥檛 stand up and say something,鈥� Ballek said.
In the Orleans County seat, Newport City, about 75 protestors lining downtown鈥檚 Main Street cheered every time passersby honked in support.
Danville resident Susie Duckett said she thinks the Trump administration鈥檚 impact on government-funded health care and nutrition programs will be especially damaging to communities like Newport.
鈥淭his town is suffering so badly, the whole Northeast Kingdom,鈥� she said.
Duckett said acts of protest can sometimes feel like 鈥渟pitting in the wind.鈥�
鈥淏ut you have to show up,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd even though we feel powerless, we won鈥檛 always be powerless.鈥�
The left nationwide has struggled to find its footing in opposition to Trump鈥檚 second administration. But as former Vermont governor Madeleine Kunin looked out over a crowd of thousands who had braved the rain and chill to assemble on the Statehouse lawn in Montpelier, she declared that the tide was turning.
鈥淪omething is happening in the last few days,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 almost spring 鈥� although you wouldn鈥檛 know it today.鈥�
The statehouse lawn and nearby streets were crammed with protesters. Amy Peberdy and Kathy Chapman said they traveled from Corinth out of a sense of obligation. Peberdy did so in honor of her suffragette grandmother.
鈥淚 figure if she did what she did more than one hundred years ago, then I can step up,鈥� she said. And Chapman, who held a rocketship-shaped placard that suggested billionaire SpaceX founder Elon Musk be deported to Mars, said it鈥檚 鈥渏ust terrible what's happening in this country.鈥�
鈥淪o I came out from my hill and came into town,鈥� she said.
Speakers included many of the most prominent names in Democratic Vermont politics: U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, Attorney General Charity Clark, Treasurer Mike Pieciak, and state Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale.
But one Republican also spoke: Lt. Gov. John Rodgers. A former conservative Democrat, Rodgers returned to politics last year to break with his former party, join the GOP and knock out an incumbent lieutenant governor.
On Saturday, he said opposition to Trump鈥檚 administration shouldn鈥檛 be a partisan issue.
鈥淚 am calling on all Republicans to stand up,鈥� he said. Rodgers also said he was 鈥渆mbarrassed鈥� by Congressional Republicans for bowing to Trump, and he decried the 鈥渟pineless鈥� white-shoe law firms that have with the president to avoid executive orders that could hurt their business.
These lawyers, he said, were 鈥渁nother prime example of the lack of courage that has infected so many who should be standing up for the rights of Americans and the Constitution.鈥�
While Vermont鈥檚 most important state and national politicians have featured prominently in the nascent Trump resistance, one figure has been notably absent: Republican Gov. Phil Scott.
Scott has never supported Trump, and voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris in November. But since Trump鈥檚 re-election, he has held off on forcefully criticizing the president.
Rodgers did not mention Scott in his speech. But as he stepped away from the podium, the crowd broke into a spontaneous chant.鈥淲here鈥檚 Phil?鈥� they shouted. 鈥淲here鈥檚 Phil?鈥�
In Burlington, several hundred people gathered on Church Street, holding handmade signs that said, among others, 鈥淪ave Ukraine,鈥� and 鈥淗ands off Canada.鈥�
开云体育 social media specialist Catherine Hurley contributed to this report.
