Since Donald Trump’s election win a wave of major protests has spread all over the western world.
This evening yet another anti-Trump protest will take place in central London, coinciding with the Parliamentary debate on whether Mr. Trump’s state visit to the UK should take place this summer. Here thousands are expected to show up.
At the same time there will be protests in the US (“Not my president’s Day”), along with several similar demonstrations taking place in Europe. Yet no-one can really be surprised anymore as a wave of anger and protests have happened ever since Mr. Trump got elected.
Many people watched in disbelief as the election results on November 8 revealed Donald Trump’s victory: it went against the surveys and predictions from the political experts. A wave of anger and denial hit Europe, evolving into major demonstrations across the pond. This anger seems to worsen every time Mr.Trump opens his mouth.
A recent example of this is his misleading statement this weekend at the Florida rally. He said “We’ve got to keep our country safe. You look at what’s happening in Germany, you look at what’s happening last night in Sweden.” But nothing had happened in Sweden that week.
As people gather to rally against this one man who has created so much hatred and chaos, one can wonder how people can get angrier about a controversial former businessman than serial killers and dictators.
One could view it as a domino-effect. It started with protests in the States over Mr. Trump’s win, which quickly spread to Europe. Then the President signed a new abortion law with his male staff, as an infamous photograph revealed, which created a massive reaction across the western world. After this he imposed one of his most controversial policies yet, the travel ban on Muslims, which sparked a new wave of hysteria.
Basically, every controversial statement and policy he has made so far as President has led to major protests. While some would say it’s all about Trump’s controversial way of doing politics, one cannot avoid the fact that a new political movement is happening in other European countries as well, such as France with Marie Le Pen – and this is what many are actually protesting against.
While there is no certain prediction of either tonight’s protests or the outcome of the Parliamentary debate, one thing is sure: the US election has led not only to a wave of protests, but a political shift across Europe. And they probably won’t stop as suddenly as they started.