‘Trump and Musk have got to go,’ say Fresno protesters

FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – Fresno activists took part in a national protest organized by the 50501 Movement against President Donald Trump’s policies. 

Demonstrators held “not my king” signs and stood in front of Fresno City Hall, shouting “Trump and Musk have got to go.”

Hundreds were at the rally, sharing their frustrations about recent actions taken by the Trump Administration.

One of the people who showed up to the event was community member Maggie McMahon.

“I came here to support democracy in the United States of America. It’s fragile, it needs our love and our support. And I came here to feel agency because I feel powerless in the face of the onslaught from our current administration,” she said. “We did elect the current president, so he is my president. But I don’t agree with him.”

Community advocate Jennifer Cruz was one of the event organizers and says massive federal layoffs led by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), current immigration policies and the rollback of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs were just a few things activists were protesting against.  

“50 protests, 50 states, one cause. To get our federal governments to be more accountable and the things that are happening currently,” Cruz said.

In Fresno County, Supervisor Garry Bredefeld led the charge to remove DEI language from government job applications.

“We saw last week Bredefeld trying to remove diversity, equity inclusion from their hiring practices,” Cruz said. “We need to stop this in Fresno County and let them know it’s not okay.”

Bredefeld says he thinks DEI initiatives are prejudicial.

“It should be replaced by equality, merit and colorblindness. Basically, people should be hired who are the most qualified, regardless of your race, the color of your skin, your sex,” he said.

Bredefeld also says he applauds the current efforts Musk is making and believes DOGE aims to cut down on government spending.

“They’re going to come up with billions if not trillions of dollars that are wasted. This is our taxpayer money. It’s everyone’s taxpayer money. And we all want it to be spent appropriately, not on woke radical ideology,” he said.

The protest started at around noon and concluded with demonstrators marching to the Robert E Coyle Federal Building.