Republican Primary: Donald Trump Campaign Faces Thousands Of Protesters In New York City


Donald Trump may not be getting the support he expected in New York City. CBS New York reports that thousands of protesters gathered in front of one of Trump’s signature buildings in Manhattan on Saturday.

According to CBS, the protesters chanted, “Donald Trump, go away, racist, sexist, anti-gay.” They assembled in Columbus Circle and marched across Central Park South to Trump Tower, Donald Trump’s residence in New York. They then headed back to Columbus Circle and had a rally there.

CBS reports that at least two of the protesters were arrested and a group of them tried to break through a police barrricade, only to be pushed back by police with pepper spray.

“We’re here because Donald Trump is the antithesis of what America stands for,” one protester said in an interview.

“We gotta make sure we get out and vote and make sure our voices are heard,” another protester told CBS.

The protest was organized by a group called Cosmopolitan Antifascists.

“Trump’s policies threaten many of us in the Black, Latino, LGBTQIA+, Muslim, and other communities,” the group said in a statement posted on Facebook. “These policies and type of speech has no place in this country and certainly does not have a place in the city that Trump grew his empire in – a city known as a melting pot and home for many of the same people Trump continues to wage war on.”

There were anti-Trump protests in Arizona as well. CNN reports that the protesters blocked roads in Arizona to declare their opposition to the Trump campaign.

According to CNN, the Arizona protesters parked vehicles sideways on Shea Boulevard to block two lanes of traffic into Fountain Hills, Arizona, where Trump held a rally Saturday afternoon.

Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Joaquin Enriquez told CNN that Shea Boulevard was the main road into the area and that traffic was blocked so badly that drivers risked driving into oncoming traffic in order to get around the protest.

“This is causing huge issues for us,” Enriquez said to CNN. “We obviously have to get this road open.”

CNN reports that three protesters were arrested and two cars were towed. Authorities insisted that this was done because of the traffic block and not because of the protest itself.

Protests at Trump campaign events have become increasingly volatile of late. At a recent Trump rally in Salt Lake City, protesters tried to break through the venue’s entrance, causing Secret Service and police to intervene.

In Chicago, a Trump rally was canceled after a large group of anti-Trump protesters got into scuffles with Trump supporters. As CNN reports, Trump has been endorsed by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer and Maricopa Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

Arpaio is notorious in Arizona for his treatment of undocumented immigrants. He’s known for organizing roundups of immigrants and for strange tactics like clothing inmates in pink underwear.

Arpaio said today that he would ensure that the Trump rally happened as planned.

“We’ll do everything possible to make sure we have free speech in this country. Donald Trump has a right to speak out and the people have a right to go in there and hear him speak,” Arpaio said. “If certain groups don’t like it, that’s OK. They have freedom of speech, but they’re not going to violate any laws. They’re going to have to pay the consequences.”

The Trump rally in Arizona was not canceled and the GOP frontrunner was allowed to speak in front of his adoring supporters and repeat the border control rhetoric he’s been spouting for most of his campaign.

“Unless you have a border, you don’t have a country. Remember that.”

[Photo by Kena Betancur/ AFP/Getty Images]

Share this article: Republican Primary: Donald Trump Campaign Faces Thousands Of Protesters In New York City
More from Inquisitr