More than 10,000 demonstrators gathered in New York on the day of the presidents to denounce the current administration of Trump and the actions in particular of the Department of Elon Musk Government (DOGE).
It was one of Several demonstrations This took place Monday in major cities across the country and came during the same long weekend that small protests germinated among Tesla dealerships across the country.
The demonstrators who spoke to Techcrunch de Washington Square Park, raised concerns about DOGE’s access to sensitive data from millions of Americans and the dismantling of federal agencies by the group. They said they considered Musk’s work with DOGE as a veiled attempt to grasp financial power and expressed his frustration that Musk, an unaduminated official, acquired unprecedented levels of power over the federal government.
“I think it’s extremely dangerous [Musk] has access to our personal data, ”an architect who asked his surname in Techcrunch. “He is a kind of futuristic fanboy who lives mainly in a science fiction fantasy and tries to implement this, and has the resources to do mass damage. He shone with something that he did not have the ability to really understand. »»
A 55 -year -old retirement teacher who only identified himself as Tom and who held a sign who said: “No one voted for Musk,” told Techcrunch, “as much as I don’t like the fact That a large number of Americans voted for Trump, it is absolutely the case that no one voted for Musk. »»
Tom noted that he did not believe that the average supporter of Maga had voted for Musk and feared that the Doge cuts harm the Americans at a state of state, local and individual.
“The consolidation of power under the billionaires is a frightening thing,” he said.
Trump signed a decree during his first day in power to create Doge, giving Musk, the billionaire owner of SpaceX, Tesla, X and other companies, reins to eliminate the fraud, waste and waste from taxpayers.
Since then, Doge has fired Nearly 10,000 federal workers Who managed everything from federal land management to care to military veterans. Another 75,000 workers accepted the Trump administration repurchase, which at the end of January offered federal workers eight months of salary and benefits to leave their posts if they resigned in early February. Doge also Cut 104 government contracts Linked to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility programs and has dismantled the American agency for international development.
Trump also granted access to the Musk DOGE team to the digital payment system of the Treasury Department, which controls billions of dollars in payments to the Americans, from social security services to tax reimbursements, despite issues on their authorizations security, their cybersecurity practices and the legality of Musk’s activities.
Trump supporters and Musk applaud their efforts on paper to eliminate corruption, ineffectiveness and administrative formalities. Opponents oppose how DOGE goes about its declared objectives and warn that the actions of the team will lead to more corruption and national security risks.
A wave of legal challenges followed which alleys a lack of transparency and violations of data confidentiality.
New York demonstrators started at Union Square and went to Washington Square Park, gathering under the emblematic Memorial Arch dedicated to George Washington, the first president of the country. They chanted “Hey, Ho, Ho, Ho, Elon Musk had to go” and held panels that praised a range of causes, but Musk and Doge were a common theme throughout.
The New York Police Department estimated that the number of participants exceeded more than 10,000.
Victoria, who identified himself as a 37 -year -old teacher, held a sign who said: “Stop the coup”, echoing the comments made to The Guardian on Monday by the Prosecutor General of Arizona, Kris Mayes , who said said to the exit“In the United States, we appeal to the decisions with which we do not agree – we do not ignore the judicial orders or do not threaten the judges with dismissal simply because we do not like the decision. It’s a simple and simple coup. »»
“It is not a question of disagreeing us with republican policies,” said Victoria, bringing together against the cold winds whipping the city, where sunny temperatures cast approximately 32 degrees Fahrenheit. “This is the fact that Trump has given the power of the handbag to Elon Musk, which is not elected.”
While people played music and shouted songs, their homemade panels rose above their heads, a 39-year-old small business owner who identified himself as Corwin said about Musk: ” He is so conflict and it is so clear that his anti -regulatory attitudes benefit him personally and financially. “”
Musk has targeted several reduction or distribution agencies that regulate the industries in which its companies operate. Earlier this month, Musk said he wanted to eliminate the consumer financial protection office, which would regulate X’s expected expansion to financial services, posting on its social network X “CFBP RIP», Punctuated by an emoji of tombstone. He declared an intention to take care of the Federal Aviation Administration, an agency with which he previously faced and one that regulates SpaceX. He also called to put an end to a rule that obliges manufacturers to report accidents when autonomous driving technology is engaged.
Musk’s actions at the federal level affected Tesla’s brand image. During the profits of the fourth quarter of the automaker from the automaker, analyst Thomas Monteiro from Investing.com noted that the media threw around Tesla tends to decrease, among other things, “the severe devaluation of the brand”.
The stories appear to People sell their teslas For the desire to no longer support Musk’s companies. Some owners of Cybertruck have reported cases of vandalism and harassment. Sales of the automaker, which were already starting to suffer due to the increased competition on the market and an obsolete range, began to fall in Europe after a musk gesture, during the inauguration of the president, was interpreted by many like a Salute Nazi. The Minister of Sports and Tourism in Poland Slawomir Nitras Press a boycott of Teslaand in Germany, several companies to have equalize With Tesla in reaction to the support of Musk both for Trump and the extreme right political party alternative for Germany (AFD).
