5 days ago
Anti-Trump Protest Held in President's Florida Stronghold
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An anti-President Donald Trump protest is being planned for Thursday in a traditionally Republican stronghold.
The protest is being held in The Villages, a sprawling retirement community of more than 150,000 residents across three Central Florida counties with a largely GOP-voting population of retirees, per Gulf Live.
It is part of nationwide Good Trouble Lives On protests on Thursday, the anniversary of the death of civil rights leader and former Representative John Lewis, known for his slogan of making "Good Trouble."
John Lewis addresses a crowd at a rally protesting the National Rifle Association's annual convention a few blocks away in Atlanta, April 29, 2017.
John Lewis addresses a crowd at a rally protesting the National Rifle Association's annual convention a few blocks away in Atlanta, April 29, 2017.
David Goldman, file/AP Photo
Why It Matters
The state of Florida voted 56.1 percent for Trump in 2024, and the three Central Florida counties which hold The Villages, Marion, Sumter and Lake, voted above the state average, at 65.5 percent, 68.3 percent, and 61.8 percent respectively, in favor of Trump.
This protest in a pro-Trump stronghold comes as the president is suffering in the polls, over the White House's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, which is also rattling a segment of his own supporters.
What To Know
More than 1,600 Good Trouble Lives On protests are being held across the country, including in states that voted for Trump in 2024 such as Arizona, Arkansas, South Carolina and Florida.
Katherine Garcia, press officer for Public Citizen, a group involved with Good Trouble Lives On spoke to Newsweek about why protests are being held in The Villages, saying: "The Trump Administration's attacks on the American people's civil rights, Medicaid, SNAP, Social Security and other health programs, reproductive rights, due process, and more impacts all Americans. The bounds of these impacts are not defined by state lines or party affiliations."
The organizing site for the protest in The Villages says: "This is more than a protest; it's a moral reckoning. A continuation of the movement Lewis helped lead, and a new front in the struggle for freedom."
This is not the first anti-Trump protest in The Villages. Some Villages residents also organized one of the No Kings Day protests held on June 14.
The No Kings protests were the largest nationwide demonstration against the president, and coincided with a miltary parade that was held in Washington, D.C, as well as Trump's birthday.
This is the fifth-annual Good Trouble Lives On protest following Lewis' death on July 17, 2020.
Lewis participated in the first lunch counter sit-ins in the 1960s, was a Freedom Rider in Montgomery, Alabama, and was a speaker at the March on Washington in 1963.
In 1987, he became a member of Congress, representing Georgia's 5th district until he passed away.
Good Trouble Lives On organizers told Newsweek via a press release: "In memory of John Lewis, we will take to the streets, courthouses and community spaces to carry forward his fight for justice, voting rights and dignity for all."
Garcia told Newsweek: "As of this morning, July 17, more than 1,600 events have been confirmed, 184,000 have RSVP'd to attend Good Trouble Lives On, and we expect at least several hundred thousand people will attend across the country."
Good Trouble Lives On protest locations across the U.S.
Good Trouble Lives On protest locations across the U.S.
What People Are Saying
Congressman John Lewis: "Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America."
Katherine Garcia, press officer for Public Citizen, a group involved with Good Trouble Lives On, told Newsweek: "Good Trouble" is the act of coming together to take peaceful, non-violent action to challenge injustice and create meaningful change. We're encouraging communities to come together to march, protest and engage in service work – any action where we can take a stand against wrongdoings, and speak truth to power. Though Good Trouble has been hosted every year since Congressman Lewis' passing in 2020, this year's event is especially important as it comes at a critical time to protect civil rights across the nation."
Liz Huston, White House spokesperson told Newsweek: "Nearly 80 million Americans gave President Trump a historic mandate to Make America Great Again and he is delivering on that promise in record time."
What Happens Next
Garcia told Newsweek: "Many of our organizers are also partnering upcoming actions on Labor Day, which will continue the mobilization of the American people and propel the demands of Good Trouble further to stop the billionaire takeover and rampant corruption of the Trump administration, protect social programs for working people, and stop attacks on immigrants, Black, indigenous, trans people and all our communities."
