Oakland protestors cheer California's efforts to counter GOP-led redistricting
For about 90 minutes, that standing-room-only crowd listened to a series of speakers that included Alameda County Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas, Rep. Lateefah Simon and Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee. Though they each took different approaches, their speeches all focused on the same basic credo: 'Stop President Donald Trump's takeover.'
More than 200 events spanning 34 states echoed that theme Saturday. In Texas, Trump is pushing a new congressional map that could net Republicans five additional seats in the 2026 midterm elections. And, experts believe, he doesn't plan to stop there. As part of his bid to maintain Republicans' slim U.S. House majority in the next elections, Trump is reportedly eyeing new maps in such states as Missouri, Florida and Ohio.
Few metro areas protested those efforts in larger numbers Saturday than the Bay Area, where a broad coalition of Democratic organizations organized at least 25 such gatherings everywhere from parks to government buildings to freeway overpasses. A rally even sprouted up in a Tesla showroom at Palo Alto's Stanford Shopping Center.
'It's a real small world, and the repercussions are real and imminent,' said Rick Levine, a retired doctor who lives in Oakland and attended Saturday's rally. 'Texas is not that far away. We can't let what's happening there get any closer.'
Perhaps none of the other Bay Area protests could match Oakland's star power, which might have been fitting. Just five days earlier, during a rambling press conference about crime, Trump mentioned this East Bay city of roughly 440,000 residents among the places he might deploy National Guard troops. While listing major urban centers that he accused of having egregious crime problems, he said, 'And then you have, of course, Baltimore and Oakland. We don't even mention that anymore there.'
The off-hand remark gave Lee, who served in Congress during Trump's first administration and was on the House floor during the Jan. 6 attacks, timely material for Saturday's final address. But instead of dwelling on what she called the latest time 'Trump trashed us,' Lee reminded the crowd — much of which was composed of people over 60 — that she's from Texas.
Minority Democrats left that state to stall the Legislature from passing Trump's redistricting plan there. Once a minimum number of legislators are present, Texas' new-look districts could still pass.
'As someone who was born in a border town, in the immigrant community of El Paso, Texas, I remember the days when Black and brown people had no political representation,' Lee said. 'But because of the sacrifices and the demands of the people, El Paso has had Latino mayors and now its first Black mayor. … Donald Trump and his MAGA extremist Republicans know what's going on there, and they're trying to stop it.'
'I know Texas well,' she added. 'This is a coordinated, dangerous effort to take power from the people.'
Boos emanated from the crowd, which started at several hundred people and grew to around 1,000. The large turnout reinforced why California recently became the first Democratic-led state to insert itself into the redistricting issue. On Thursday, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that California will hold a Nov. 4 special election to temporarily let lawmakers — not California's independent redistricting commission — draw new congressional boundaries, which could give Democrats five more House seats.
Dozens of signs at Saturday's Oakland rally referenced that strategic counter. In front of protesters, a podium with a microphone sat on the back of the type of farming truck known to carry egg crates. Next to the vehicle, a huge inflatable chicken stood, with hair like Trump's and a red wattle reminiscent of his signature red tie.
To keep with the poultry theme, three words were emblazoned across the adjacent sign: 'Stop Being Fowl.' At one point midway through the rally, volunteers from a local nonprofit stood on the truck holding large cardboard eggs, which a community organizer called 'hatchlings of authoritarianism.'
Over the next 10 minutes, pictures of four Republicans — Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Chief Justice John Roberts and Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, a key architect of Project 2025 — 'hatched' from the eggs. Along the way, the organizer detailed how each of them was instrumental in Trump's redistricting efforts
Those moments of levity soon gave way to an emotional address from Simon, who discussed seeing National Guard troops in the streets of Washington, D.C., this week and implored Democrats not to succumb to Trump's tactics. 'Republicans aren't playing by the rules,' she said. 'When they go low, we go hella high.'
During Simon's speech, Oakland resident Jim Williams stood toward the back of the crowd in a navy blue hat with 'DEMOCRACY' emblazoned across the front. As he watched her raise her voice, hyping up some protesters to the point where they were jumping up and down, Williams suddenly felt optimistic.
'I just love her raw power and energy,' said Williams, 71, who tries to attend every anti-Trump rally in Oakland. 'People like Lateefah, who are kind of in that middle generation, can carry that torch for the party when people like Barbara Lee retire.'
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