Anti-Trump protests: 5 demands demonstrators are making | CNN Politics

Protests against Trump's administration

Anti-Trump protests spread sandoval pkg_00000000.jpg

KATU

Now playing

01:16

Anti-Trump protests spread

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2018 9:30 AM Judiciary Hearings to examine the nomination of Brett M. Kavanaugh, of Maryland, to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. SH-216 Coverage: Coverage: C-SPAN POOL FEED: Chairman Iso Feed: CAP DA 1, Witness Camera Iso Feed: CAP DA 2, Side One Camera Iso Feed: CAP DA 3, Side Two Camera Iso Feed: CAP DA 4.

CNN

Now playing

02:13

See protesters rattle Brett Kavanaugh hearing

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 04: Protesters dressed in The Handmaid's Tale costume, protest outside the hearing room where Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee during his Supreme Court confirmation hearing in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill September 4, 2018 in Washington, DC. Kavanaugh was nominated by President Donald Trump to fill the vacancy on the court left by retiring Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Win McNamee/Getty Images North America/Getty Images

Now playing

01:48

'Handmaids' protest Kavanaugh confirmation

Anti-Trump paraglider

Greenpeace/Twitter

Now playing

01:21

Trump protester breaches security airspace

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 13: Protesters join a Women's march in central London to demonstrate against President Trump's visit to the UK, on July 13, 2018 in London, England. Tens of Thousands Of Anti-Trump protesters are expected to demonstrate in London and across the country against the UK visit by the President of the United States. Many people disagree with his policies that include migrant family separation, discrimination of transgender military personnel and changes to laws protecting women's sexual health. (Photo by Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images)

Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images

Now playing

00:54

Demonstrators gather in London for Trump visit

A six-meter high cartoon baby blimp of U.S. President Donald Trump hovers next to the statue of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, as it is flown as a protest against his visit, in Parliament Square in London, England, Friday, July 13, 2018. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

Matt Dunham/AP

Now playing

01:24

'Trump baby' blimp takes to London's skies

NY: Liberty Island being evacuated because of a person trying to climb the statue of Liberty Liberty island is being evacuated because of a person trying to climb the statue of Liberty and U.S. Park Police and NYPD are on the scene, Jerry Willis with the National Park Service tells CNN.

WPIX

Now playing

01:04

Woman climbs base of the Statue of Liberty

Protesters in Atlanta are carrying a dog crate with baby dolls inside

WSB

Now playing

00:58

Protesters carry a dog crate with baby dolls inside

congressman protest

CNN

Now playing

00:48

Lawmakers yell at Trump after GOP meeting

President Donald Trump makes a statement in the Diplomatic Room at the White House on August 14, 2017.

NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty

Now playing

01:49

Trump's day-by-day response to Charlottesville

US actor Shia LaBeouf(L) during his He Will Not Divide Us livestream outside the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, in the Queens borough of New York January 24, 2017 as a protest against President Donald Trump. LaBeouf has installed a camera at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York that will run a continuous live stream for the duration of Trumps presidency. LaBeouf is inviting the public to participate in the project by saying the phrase, He will not divide us, into the camera. / AFP / TIMOTHY A. CLARY (Photo credit should read TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images)

TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/AFP/Getty Images

Now playing

00:45

Shia LaBeouf arrested at anti-Trump protest

Demonstrators march through downtown Houston demanding greater governmental transparency and the release of President Donald Trump's tax returns during a protest Saturday, April 15, 2017. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle/AP

Now playing

01:15

Tax marches across the US

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 25: With the White House in the foreground, protesters unfurl a banner atop a crane at the construction site of the former Washington Post office building, January 25, 2017 in Washington, DC. The protestors are with the Greenpeace organization.

Drew Angere/Getty Images

Now playing

00:57

Activists scale crane to protest Trump

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 29: People gather near the U.S. Capitol for the People's Climate Movement before marching to the White House to protest President Donald Trump's enviromental policies April 29, 2017 in Washington, DC. Demonstrators across the country are gathering to demand a clean energy economy. (Photo by Astrid Riecken/Getty Images)

Astrid Riecken/Getty Images

Now playing

01:36

Thousands march to protest Trump policy

Berkeley protesters 01

KGO

Now playing

01:04

Fights erupt at California protest

Now playing

00:45

'March for Truth' protests in dozens of cities

Story highlights

Protesters across the country are raising a range of concerns

Some chant "Dump Trump," while others say "not my President"

CNN —

Demonstrations against President-elect Donald Trump are erupting across the United States.

From New York to Atlanta to San Diego, thousands of people have taken to the streets.

The protests have been largely peaceful, but some have turned violent. In Portland, Oregon, police described one as a riot after vandals threw objects at officers and damaged cars.

Protesters are raising a range of concerns as they take to the streets. But they seem to be standing together on several key points.

Here are five things they’re pushing for:

1. ‘Dump Trump’

Many demonstrators have used “Dump Trump” as a rallying cry.

A protest Wednesday in downtown Seattle.

Ted S. Warren/AP

What does that mean exactly? It’s a slogan that first gained traction as some Republicans pushed for the party to cut ties with Trump. But now that the election results are in, it’s taking on a different meaning.

For some, it’s a catchy way to sum up their rage about the President-elect. But others are taking things a step further, signing an online petition and writing letters to members of the Electoral College, asking them not to vote the way their states did at the polls.

Could that happen? The Internet rumor debunking website Snopes.com describes the prospect as “extremely, extremely unlikely,” noting that it would be “wholly unprecedented in American history and would require a sudden and drastic change in the United States’ political traditions.”

The Electoral College itself has also become a focus for some protesters, since Clinton won the popular vote but lost the election.

02:14 - Source: CNN

Clinton can win popular vote, Trump still wins election

2. Build bridges, not walls

Trump made immigration a focal point of his campaign, and it’s a key issue for many protesters who are against Trump’s vows to deport undocumented immigrants.

“I’m out here for my undocumented friends,” protester Spencer Smith, 19, told CNN in Atlanta.

At protests in Miami, demonstrators held signs that said, “build bridges, not walls,” taking aim at Trump’s oft-touted plan to build a wall along the US-Mexico border.

Is there any chance the wall plan could come off the table? Don’t hold your breath, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, one of Trump’s advisers on immigration, told CNN affiliate KWCH this week.

“There’s no question the wall is going to get built,” Kobach said. “The only question is how quickly will it get done and who pays for it?”

Whether or not Trump heeds protesters’ calls, building a wall along the border may be harder than it sounds.

The fence that divides the US and Mexico in Naco, Arizona.

CNN

3. Making a statement

Some protesters say they know Trump will take the reins January 20, but they want to make it clear that they’re not happy about the election results – and they’re not going to be quiet about it.

Protesters in Iowa this week had two main goals, said Rachel Walerstein, who attended protest in Iowa. First, they wanted to let people know that rhetoric-fueled violence against people of color, immigrants and LGBT people won’t stand, she said.

“The second is to make a statement of political instability to render it difficult to govern, and in particular, to make it impossible for Trump to implement his policies in the first 100 days,” she said. “For me, it’s important to make these statements known and visible.”

“It’s mostly to raise awareness,” said Dalina Aimée Perdomo, who also joined protests in Iowa City this week and said she felt angry and disappointed that her state had gone with conservative choices at the polls. “We gathered to share how we felt and how our families felt.”

Trump has slammed protesters as “paid professionals,” but later praised their passion on Twitter.

4. Trump should denounce the divisive things he’s said

“He needs to really address all the divisive, hateful things he’s said in the past and recant them, denounce them,” protester Nick Truesdale told CNN in New York on Friday.

Trump told The Wall Street Journal this week that he doesn’t think his rhetoric on the campaign trail went too far. But he also said he wanted people to come together, according to the newspaper.

“I want a country that loves each other,” he told the Journal this week. “I want to stress that.”

Others have called for Trump to denounce an upcoming KKK parade scheduled to celebrate his victory in North Carolina.

Trump himself hasn’t spoken out publicly about the event, but the North Carolina Republican Party condemned it.