After thousands of protesters filled streets nationwide to challenge the Trump administration’s agenda on Saturday, one big question remains:
What comes next?
The “Hands Off” demonstrations swept across more than 1,000 cities, including dozens across Oregon. From Portland to Baker City, protesters voiced frustration over a broad range of issues — federal layoffs, rising inflation, newly imposed tariffs and the growing influence of billionaire Elon Musk.
If their goal was to reverse federal policy, they may be disappointed. But political scientists say that doesn’t mean the protests were pointless.
“If we always think in terms of instant gratification, we miss a lot of the magic and importance of protests,” said Jules Boykoff, a professor at Pacific University in Oregon, who studies social movements. “There’s a human connection that happens when people protest.”
Protests, Boykoff said, don’t just send messages to Washington, D.C. — they build momentum. They bring like-minded people together.
“When you have thousands of people feeling the same way,” Boykoff said, “it can be a galvanizing force — you know you are not alone and that you are willing to fight.”
Exact numbers are impossible to come by, but more than half a million people registered for the Hands Off protests online, according to organizers, putting the total number of protesters likely at more than 1 million on Saturday.
A show of strength in unexpected places
Even deep-red communities joined in. In places like Prineville, Madras and Grants Pass — where President Trump is well liked — small but vocal groups took to the streets. That doesn’t surprise Chandler James, a political science professor at the University of Oregon.
“The government does a bunch of things,” James said. “It sends people Social Security cheques, it provides funds for education, for research grants, it regulates certain activities. But Trump’s changes on the government have been profound … If you make a bunch of changes to society and there are people negatively impacted by that, they’re going to be upset.”
James sees echoes of past movements — particularly the Tea Party movement from the late 2000s — in the decentralized energy of the Hands Off protests. That movement had a profound impact on elections in 2010, helping Republicans win the U.S. House of Representatives.
“You’re seeing a lot of pent-up energy being expressed whenever the opportunity arises,” James said. “What that suggests to me is that this isn’t something that is going to go away. This might be revealing underlying discontent that is looking for ways to express itself and be known on a larger scale.”
'Take a bold stance'
The size of Saturday’s protest may also give elected officials permission to take stronger stands, Boykoff said.
“What the protesters have done is give structured permission for elected officials to be even more bold,” Boykoff said. “If politicians realize people are angry and will have their back if they take a stance … They are more likely to say, ‘My constituents are demanding we take a bold stance.’”
It takes time for the impacts to the federal government to trickle down to individual communities, but when they do, that may propel others to join in similar protests in the future.
“What happens if Social Security cheques go fully underwater, or the Trump administration uses the problems with the tariffs to make cuts to Medicare?” Boykoff said. “If that happens, people who have never considered protesting may consider the prospect.”
That, in turn, may lead other lawmakers to act, James said.
“People are looking for opportunities to make their dissatisfaction heard … If that dissatisfaction is persistent enough, some ambitious politicians can leverage that energy and turn it into a political movement.”
That could be bad news for elected officials banking on silence.
“Protests like this can make a difference if elected officials sense that their own re-election is threatened,” said Chris Shortell, a political science professor at Portland State University.
But that change, Shortell noted, won’t come easily. Many Republicans remain reluctant to challenge Trump, even privately.
“The unknown here is when and whether public opposition to the administration’s actions creates enough pressure for elected officials to overcome that hesitation,” Shortell said.
