LONDON – Two weeks into his presidency, Donald Trump’s executive orders have caused havoc affecting the lives of Americans, legal immigrants to the US, and foreigners.
This pattern of discord has sparked outrage by many American politicians such as Senator Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, along with a battle with Homeland Security, concerns over the National Security Council, threats to long standing allies, even agitating China and Iran, to include falsely accusing the latter of an incident at sea.
President Trump’s erratic, unstable and selective reference to safety is disturbing. For example, he was immediately vocal when a foolish man tried to cause harm in Paris, France but remained silent when a white supremacist murdered worshippers at a mosque in Quebec.
As protests continue to erupt around the world, London saw over 40,000 assemble outside the US Embassy, marching towards Downing Street.
The following quotes are from speeches held outside the American embassy in London:
“First of all, special greetings to all our Muslim brothers and sisters today… Every single Muslim in the world was the target of Donald Trump’s racism, and we have to stand with them…. In Donald Trump we are facing a threat to all of our values.. We need to all unite… This is not a time for egos, or personal posturing, it is not a time for division, it is time for one united movement of the British people… Theresa May wants a special relationship… No, you don’t hold hands with a racist, you don’t hold hands with a misogynist… Theresa May, it’s time to let go of his hands”
Andrew Murray, UNITE
“Millions of Americans who are unable to recognize their country. I’ve received a number of emails from Americans saying how much it means to them to see Europeans taking to the streets and protesting… We in the Jewish community know all too well what happens when people are treated not as individuals, but instead are demonized because of their specific nationality or religion. We are deeply concerned by Trump’s executive orders… I feel particularly gratified to see Muslim and Jewish organizations in the United States, coming together. It is important that Muslims and Jews in the United Kingdom come together to do the same.
Dr Edie Friedman, Jewish Council For Racial Equality
“I’m here to protest the inhumane ban on refugees. I’m here to protest the despicable southern border wall. I’m here to protest against a president who deliberately when he talks about the holocaust doesn’t mention the genocide of the Jewish people or the Roma people… Every teachers should be involved in a campaign against Donald Trump, and I want to tell you why. As teachers we are privileged… We see with the young children we teach. We see the world the way it is going to be when we have finally defeated racism and prejudice. But we also see the way the world is now, and we see the fear that Donal Trump’s policies are causing to some of our children in schools up and down the country. And when you see that, you know you have to speak out… I believe that Donal Trump’s policies are aimed at stoking up fear and division. That fear is not confined to the citizens of seven Muslim countries, it is not confined to Muslims at all. It affects every person of colour, every refugee, every person who wants a decent life… Division is not confined to the United States, that division is spreading across the world, and we are seeing that fear and division in our schools. We have reached a low point in the world… Now is the time to stand up, now is the time to be personally brave, say no to president Trump, say no Muslim ban, say no state visit, no state visit.”
Kevin Courtney, General Secretary, National Union of Teachers
“In recent weeks I went from anger, to sadness, to absolute fury. He talks about stopping terrorism and increasing security, but I have questions for you. Do I look dangerous to you? (Crowd shouts out: Noooo). Is a five year old child handcuffed at an airport a threat to American security? (Crowd shouts out: Noooo) Is a four month old baby needing open heart surgery a threat to anyone? (Crowd shouts out: Noooo) We know that this isn’t the reason why he’s doing this. Trump has an agenda. And we shouldn’t be afraid to say it, Trump’s agenda is a fascist agenda. And he is intentionally perpetuating hate to divide us. And we are already seeing this, we have seen mosques burning to the ground (US). We have seen murders happening in mosques (Canada)…. Let’s not forget our own Prime Minister. When faced with an opportunity to challenge Trump, did she do that? She did not. All she did was appease him. Instead of being the voice for us and standing up to him, she just held hands with him, which I thought was a bit creepy.. We need to ensure that history does not repeat itself.”
Faduma Hassan, Momentum
“I am the MP for Brent Central, the most diverse constituency in Europe….The reality is that we do have a special relationship with the United States, but that comes with responsibility. And Theresa May our Prime Minister has to understand that responsibility. Our parliament is older than the United States, and it is said that when America sneezes the UK catches a cold. Right now, America has a really nasty virus. And we’ve got to be careful that we don’t catch it because we do have a close working relationship. And right now we have a bit of an open wound with Brexit and we’ve got to make sure that we don’t catch it and it doesn’t become an epidemic, we’ve got to make sure that we stop it, so it doesn’t become a pandemic, cause let me tell you, the free world may never recover from this hate unless we stop it… What’s the antidote you might ask? The antidote is you, the antidote is me, the antidote is us, the antidote is building bridges and not walls. The antidote is speaking up and standing up. We have to stand united in our voice against what Trump is saying, and what Trump is doing. The answer isn’t wars. ”
Dawn Butler, MP
“Last November, like many of you, I stayed up all night to watch Donald Trump be elected as president. I watched the results with my 17 year old daughter and witnessed and shared her dumbfounded horror that a man who is openly misogynistic and racist could be elected to the highest office in the western world. The best comfort I could offer her was to hold on to her faith in what was right, not to lose site of her values… We all stand here today as we refuse to do nothing… Trump wants to appeal to our worst instincts. To the fears and anxieties that drive us apart, and make us see each other as strangers, with differences from which we need protection. We are here to appeal to our best instincts… Fundamental rights belong to all of us and cannot be disregarded on the basis of ethnicity, religion or gender.”
Ben Jamal, Palestine Solidarity Campaign
“(We are) A group of campaigning organizations and individuals who fed up with the wave of reflection in this country that is blaming migrants for all of the problems… The real fear of a May and Trump alliance is not that we support Trump, but we end up copying Trump in this country; indeed they may copy the worst of each other… A walled world, an apartheid planet, where races and religions are separated from each other in isolation, that can only lead to war and violence. Immigration and migration are not the cause of social problems.
Speaker from Alliance of Freedom of Movement
“We have to stand for hope, we have to build bridges, not walls. And we have to stand up against hatred, because hatred is what killed 6 million Jews in the second world war, and hatred is what will kill and will bring another world war if we are not careful. So today we must stand up to hatred of any sort. This isn’t just about Muslim people, because this could be another group tomorrow, and another group the day after, because we know that what hatred does, it dehumanizes the other, and then they can be attacked by violence. So today let’s be strong, peaceful, hopeful. Refugees are welcome. And we must work with our European partners to solve the refugee crisis through peaceful means.”
Catherine West, MP
“One thing you can say is, that he is an equal opportunities hater. He hates all of us. he hates people of different races, he hates women, he hates LGBT, he hates socialists, he hates absolutely everybody. And that brings us all together…. The lesson from history is simple. We are not going to let this happen again. And we are going to unite as one.”
Lindsey German, Stop The War Coalition