« We only know such a procedure from dictatorships » – DiePresse.com
The German protest researcher Tardiq explains why the first mass protest in the United States was long in coming, why autocrats have some demonstrations approved and why it has become quiet about Fridays for Future.
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On Saturday there was the first mass protest against Donald Trump in the USA. AFP/Getty
The press: Donald Trump has been a US president again for around two months. The first mass protests took place in the USA on Saturday – much later than in his first term. Why is that?
Tarq Sydiq: This time the opposition took more time to coordinate. The protests assumed dozens, sometimes very local initiatives, which also pursue different political goals. Because in fact protests were already taking place, in the number even more than in Trump’s first term in Minnesota, Michigan, Texas, to name just a few. Public perception and the actual event diverge. Trump’s very hectic politics brought a new topic on the agenda almost every day that could be protested. This weekend the protest movements came together and were able to formulate the overlaps: against the influence of billionaires such as Musk, the cuts of the welfare state, attacks on migrants and trans people. This is a programmatic common denominator that had to be found first.
There is no official number of participants. Is that unusual?
