Around 200 Santa Barbara residents observed Presidents’ Day by gathering in front of downtown Santa Barbara’s County Administrative Building — and City Hall — by chanting, waving signs, and otherwise denouncing Donald J. Trump. For the most part, oncoming motorists cheered them on with festive toots of their horn, though one burly, bearded pickup truck driver shook his head ruefully, saying, “It’s all about Trump.” One group of protesters reported encountering Trump supporters who told them, “We need to pray for our president.”
The demonstrators largely hewed to an older demographic cohort; mostly, they denounced what they decried as Trump’s autocratic and despotic tendencies, not to mention his indifference and hostility towards the Constitution. “No monarch,” one sign read. “Protect Medicare and Social Security,” read another. “This is what Democracy looks like,” some protesters chanted. One woman carried a sign reading, “Deport Trump,” and another said “Let’s Turn 4 Years of Shit into Compost.” A few dozen protesters also assembled on the corner of Linden and Carpinteria avenues in Carpinteria, carrying signs reading, “Deport Elon,” “Not My President,” and “Save Our Democracy,” among other messages.
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