Nearly 2,000 residents of the retirement community known as The Villages, 20 miles south of Ocala, Florida, joined thousands across the United States in a “Hands Off!” protest against President Donald Trump and one of his top advisers, billionaire Elon Musk, a spokesperson for the mobilizing coalition told Newsweek on Saturday.
Why It Matters
“Hands Off!” is a grassroots movement and coalition of hundreds of organizations and mobilizers who want the Trump administration, including Musk, who heads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to take their “hands off” of Social Security, federal jobs, Medicaid, and more. Trump said in a February Fox News interview that Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid benefits, will not be “touched” unless “there’s fraud or something.”
The protests are taking place just days after Trump’s global sweeping tariffs which have rattled global and domestic markets, with Wall Street tanking over the past few days, marking the worst days for the U.S. stock markets since 2020.
The Villages, located in Central Florida, is a Republican stronghold, making it notable that demonstrations are taking place there against the GOP president, who has deep ties to Florida through real estate investments and political allies.
The Villages is primarily represented by Republican Representative Daniel Webster of Florida’s 11th Congressional District. Newsweek has reached out to Webster’s press team for comment via email on Saturday.
What To Know
The Villages is a predominantly white retirement community for residents aged 55 and older that spans three Central Florida counties, Lake, Sumter, and Marion. All three counties voted comfortably for Trump in 2024: Marion at 65 percent, Lake at 62 percent, and Sumter at 68 percent.
A spokesperson for “Hands Off!” estimated that approximately 2,000 people in The Villages participated in the nationwide protests on Saturday. Democratic congressional candidate Barbie Harden Hall, who is running to represent Florida’s 11th congressional district, which includes The Villages posted video of protests, writing that “more than 1,500 came out today,” with clips showing dozens of residents in golf carts lined up with signs protesting the president and Musk.
More than 1,200 “Hands Off!” demonstrations across all 50 states were planned for Saturday, with a handful taking place in Europe as well. Local protests are being organized by advocacy groups, civil rights groups, labor unions, and various election and democracy activists, among others. Large crowds of protesters filled the streets in major cities across the country, including Boston, New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C., with many demonstrating despite the rain.
The organization calls upon local advocacy groups and organizers to mobilize people to speak up against the administration, writing: “Donald Trump and Elon Musk think this country belongs to them. They’re taking everything they can get their hands on and daring the world to stop them. On Saturday, April 5th, we’re taking to the streets nationwide to fight back with a clear message: Hands off!”
The website notes that a “core principle” of the protests is “nonviolent action,” and urges protesters to “act lawfully” at the events.
During the 2024 presidential campaign, then-Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, campaigned in The Villages, where videos showed dozens of golf carts displaying support for her campaign.
A handful of Trump-supporting cities held “Hands Off!” protests on Saturday, including Rome, Georgia, where 70 percent of county voters backed Trump’s 2024 presidential bid, Midland, Michigan, where 56 percent supported him at the polls last November, and Little Rock, Arkansas, located in a county where 70 percent voted for Trump.
Protests also took place across Florida, where Trump is a resident and frequently visits his golf course and Mar-a-Lago estate.
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
What People Are Saying
A “Hands Off!” spokesperson told Newsweek in a phone interview on April 5: “The goal is hands off. You don’t see this kind of turn out from folks unless people are frustrated, upset about what their government is doing…Hands off all the things that they [the government] is trying to take away in order to give billionaires tax cuts.”
Roxey Nelson, 1199SEIU Florida Executive Vice President, told Newsweek in a Saturday email: “When hundreds of thousands turn out in top GOP stronghold areas across the country, it’s not just a rally—it’s a reckoning. The base is shifting, and the Administration should take notice.”
President Donald Trump told Fox News in February: “Social Security won’t be touched, other than if there’s fraud or something…It’s going to be strengthened… Medicare, Medicaid, none of that stuff is going to be touched.”
What Happens Next
A “Hands Off!” spokesperson told Newsweek that the coalition anticipates upwards of 1 million people to partake in events across the world.
