Arizonans gather to protest Trump’s inauguration and pro-billionaire agenda

A group of about 100 Arizonans gathered to protest President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday in downtown Phoenix, just hours after his swearing-in as the 47th president of the United States.

The gathering was one of several protests that happened across the US, as part of a “We Fight Back” movement, a nationwide mobilization opposing “Trump’s ultra-right, billionaire agenda,” according to its website.

The protestors marched from Civic Space Park in downtown Phoenix, up Central Avenue, Roosevelt Street, and 7th Street.

While the protest and march were clearly not pro-Trump, they were not exactly pro-Democratic Party either — nearly all of the speakers criticized what they view as the failures of the party and its choice to shift to the right during  the 2024 election cycle.

“But we can defeat the Trump program. Not by following the Democratic Party establishment, but by building a massive movement against the ruling class and the political system that gives everything to billionaires while impoverishing an ever larger section of the population,” states the We Fight Back website.

Alexia Isais, a member and organizer of the Phoenix branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL Phoenix), which was the main organizer of the protest and march, underscored this sentiment as she spoke to the crowd.

“It has never been more clear, the unity that those few share as Tesla CEO Elon Musk, CEO of Apple Tim Cook, CEO of Amazon Jeff Bezos, stand smiling, united, behind Donald Trump during his inauguration,” Isais said.

Musk, Bezos, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg—the three wealthiest people in America—among other billionaires, were seated ahead of cabinet nominees and alongside Trump’s family members at his inauguration, with Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai also present.

Both Amazon and Meta donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund—while Musk spent an estimated $200 million to elect Trump to office. Since taking office, Trump has renewed his promise to extend his 2017 tax cuts that greatly benefitted corporations and the top 1% of Americans, rather than the middle and working class.

Aldo Sobron, a member of PSL Phoenix, told The Copper Courier he marched in protest of the billionaire agenda and to show solidarity with the working class and other marginalized groups.

“We are against the billionaire agenda, we are against Trump, we are against the entire US government establishment that seeks to erode the rights of working class people,” Sobron said.

The first speaker ahead of the march, Jordan Napier, member and organizer with PSL Phoenix, spoke to the crowd about educational disparities, economic inequality, and social injustice at the hand of America’s capitalist system—and emphasized the importance of political organizing in opposition.

“We’re saying that for the next four years, as long as Donald Trump is in office, we refuse to sit back and take it….we will fight back,” Napier said.

Napier encouraged the crowd to fight for a government that would value its people over billionaires and big business interests.

Isais pointed to the stories of people like her grandparents, both immigrants, who have been made to blame for high crime rates, high taxes, and a poor economy.

“Millionaires and billionaires are about to get a major tax cut, while everyday working Americans like me and you will see our taxes raised,” Isais said. “The ruling elite know how to divide and distract us, and they have pulled out one of the biggest scapegoating tricks of all time, to blame the loss of jobs, the utter chaos and decline of the economy on immigrant families.”

Other local activism groups involved in organizing Monday’s protest included Trans Queer Pueblo, Palestinian American Community Circle (PACC) Action, Arizona Green Party, and Semillas Arizona.

A significant portion of the protest also centered upon the Israel-Hamas War, with chants of “free, free Palestine” and “no more money for Israel’s crimes,” filling the air of the march as it progressed, under close police watch.

Mohammed Riyad, founder of PACC Action, told the protestors to “stay united” and to keep a strong community because this is what has kept the pro-Palestine movement alive.

“Before the aggression of the Gaza Strip we were only the Palestinian community,” he said. “Right now, we have a bigger community, we have the pro-Palestinian community that includes all of us.”

Xira Flores, who is part of the LGBTQ migrant advocacy group Trans Queer Pueblo, spoke to the group about the importance of creating a community that stands up for one another, and underscored the fear that migrant and LGBTQ communities feel after Monday’s  slew of executive orders.

“We are here to make it clear that we will defend our communities against attacks from the current administration,” Flores said.

Roxanne M., a Peoria resident, came out to the protest to find solidarity and community in the glare of the incoming Presidential administration, even though she doesn’t consider herself to be a socialist, or completely align with the organizing groups’ beliefs.

“I think it’s really important that we keep a semblance of hope and we try to embrace our already existing community and strengthen it,” she told The Copper Courier. “Look at all these people out here, it definitely gives me the drive to keep pushing forward.