Orange County residents gathered around the Irvine Civic Center on Feb. 17, Presidents’ Day, to protest President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
At the intersection of Harvard Avenue and Alton Parkway, demonstrators held signs protesting facism and Trump while vehicles drove by honking their horns to show support.
Through the grassroot movement 50501, protesters gathered in response to “the anti-democratic and illegal actions of the Trump administration and its plutocratic allies.” The organization held protests in other major cities under the name “No King’s Day.”
Protesters participated in a peaceful rally called “Protest Facism,” addressing what they described as threats to democracy under the Trump administration. Orange County Rep. Dave Min stood alongside protesters.
“The resistance has to get fired up again,” Min said to the Orange County Register.
Protesters voiced frustration over Trump’s establishment of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The department was created “to implement the president’s DOGE agenda, by modernizing federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.”
According to The Business Standard, Trump identified Musk “as the functional leader of DOGE.” However, Musk remains as an unpaid volunteer for the organization while also holding the title of a “special government employee.” His role involves tackling U.S. national debt and saving taxpayer money.
The New York Times recently reported that Trump addressed potential efforts by DOGE to take 20% of its savings and return the money to American taxpayers.
With the establishment of DOGE, protesters voiced their disagreement with the organization and Musk. Jacques Kilchoer, a protester and Costa Mesa resident, said Musk’s position as a “special government employee” is neither elected nor appointed, calling it a “great disregard” for the Constitution’s establishment of the federal government.
“The main thing that the federal government should do is to make sure all the laws written on the books [are] adhered to,” Kilchoer told New University. “We’re not saying that because he’s the president, he can ignore whatever the hell he wants.”
DOGE is one of the 68 executive orders Trump has signed since his inauguration. Protesters also oppose others, including Executive Order 14160, which challenges the 14th Amendment by denying birthright citizenship to individuals whose “mother was unlawfully present in the United States and the father was not a United States citizen,” along with other categories of individuals.
“My father was an immigrant,” Kilchoer said. “This fact that he wants to turn away immigrants, which [harms] an important part of the U.S., really does not sit right with me.”
On Chi Antony He is a News Intern for the winter 2025 quarter. He can be reached onchi@uci.edu.
Edited by Jaheem Conley.
