On April 5, 2025, the United States witnessed one of the largest mass mobilizations in recent years: the “Hands Off” protests, organized by a broad progressive front against the Trump administration and Elon Musk’s rising influence within the government.
A Major Mobilization – Already Losing Steam?
According to organizers—including well-known progressive outfits like Indivisible, MoveOn, Third Act, major labor unions, and civil rights groups—over 1,200 protests took place across all 50 states and Washington D.C. Some estimates put the number of registered participants at around 600,000, though actual turnout remains unclear and widely varied from event to event.
The peak occurred over the weekend of April 5–6, with events spread broadly but often thinly—many with under 100 attendees. By April 7, the momentum had noticeably cooled, with little evidence of continued large-scale mobilization, though long-term organizing efforts may continue in the background.
Obama’s Role: Framing the Moral Narrative
Just days before the official protests began, Barack Obama gave a speech at Hamilton College, calling on students and professionals to “defend the rule of law” and stand up to what he described as authoritarian threats posed by the current administration. Delivered to a crowd of over 5,000, Obama’s message set the tone: the fight is not just political—it’s a moral obligation.
His speech invoked fears of government intimidation toward universities and law firms, urging the public to “sacrifice comfort for principle.” The message was clear: mobilize now, or lose the America you believe in.
A Well-Oiled Machine
The Hands Off protests spread rapidly across cities like Washington D.C., New York, Boston, and Los Angeles, propelled by a highly coordinated media and logistics apparatus. Graphics, slogans, hashtags, and press coverage appeared in unison—a familiar playbook for anyone who followed past mass movements like Black Lives Matter.
But this wasn’t just about Trump or Musk (now heading the Department of Government Efficiency). The real target is a broader system of sovereign-focused policies—a populist challenge to decades of technocratic and economic rule by global elites.
Two Revolutions: Economic and Ideological
Analysts speak of two concurrent revolutions unfolding:
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An economic revolution, driven by Trump’s tariffs and anti-globalist agenda, aimed at dismantling neoliberal orthodoxy;
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And an ideological counter-revolution, led by progressive elites, determined to regain control over America’s political and cultural agenda.
This isn’t a simple partisan battle between Republicans and Democrats. It’s a systemic rupture: Trump versus a transversal elite, which includes parts of the Republican establishment, Wall Street, and globalist think tanks.
Breaking the Transatlantic Network
Trump is actively dismantling the transatlantic networks that have shaped Europe and U.S. foreign policy for decades. By slashing funding to CIA-linked NGOs and reinforcing national sovereignty, he is undermining the very pillars of the globalist project.
The backlash has been fierce. Protests—even abroad—signal that global progressive forces are mobilizing to weaponize public sentiment against the return of sovereign governance.
Nothing Spontaneous: NGOs, Regime Change, and Soros
The involvement of groups like MoveOn, Indivisible, ACLU, and Sierra Club is no accident. These organizations are closely tied to the Open Society Foundations, founded by George Soros, and have long histories of pushing regime-change strategies around the world.
These protests echo tactics developed by CIA-linked political scientist Gene Sharp, whose theory of “nonviolent revolution” was used in Serbia to topple Slobodan Milošević, with the help of the Otpor movement. Today, those same tactics are being redirected inward—against Trump and any rising sovereignty movement in Europe.
It’s well-documented, for instance, that the Sierra Club has received at least $500,000 from Soros’ OSF. The strategy is clear: mobilize moral outrage, destabilize dissenting governments, and reclaim the narrative.
Who Really Decides the Winner?
The battle lines are drawn: on one side, a project of sovereignty and political realignment; on the other, a globalist bloc determined to preserve the liberal world order.
But the winner won’t be decided by ballots alone—or even by endurance.
Victory may hinge on the usual arsenal of progressive tactics deployed under the guise of defending democracy: lawfare, manufactured scandals, relentless media smear campaigns, and international pressure against any leadership that dares to challenge the system.
We’ve seen it before. We’re seeing it again.