RICHMOND, Va. — Hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S. and around the world rallied Thursday in May Day protests against President Donald Trump’s agenda, including tariffs and immigration policies.
The political activist organization 50501 — which stands for 50 protests, 50 states, 1 movement — helped coordinate the May 1 rallies. May 1, or May Day, also marked International Workers' Day.
In the United States, organizers framed this year’s protests as a pushback against the administration's stance on labor protections, diversity initiatives (DEI), and federal employees.
Protesters lined the streets in many cities, from New York to Philadelphia to Los Angeles, and outside the White House in Washington.
In Richmond, a large group of people marched the mile and a half from Monroe Park near VCU to the Virginia State Capitol.
They carried signs with phrases like "Hands off our Republic" and "Resist" and chanted things like, "Hey hey, ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go."
Watch: Images from May Day demonstrations in Richmond
"We need to stand up and fight back,” Latrina Barnes, a 48-year-old certified nursing assistant, said during a similar protest in Chicago.
She added that worries Medicaid and Medicare might be affected under the Trump administration inspired her to protest in a May Day rally for the first time.
“We’re bringing the fight to the billionaires and politicians who are trying to divide us with fear and lies,” April Verrett, president of the Service Employees International Union, said during a protest in Los Angeles.
"We really want to stand up for all of our fellow laborers who were laid off or just fired with no real reason,” Deblina Datta, who worked on global immunization efforts before retiring in 2023, said at a protest in Atlanta. “We really want to make a cry that without the CDC, bad things will happen."
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller on Thursday spoke about a variety of issues that President Trump has impacted since taking office.
Watch: White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller discusses President Trump's first 100 days in office
On the topic of tariffs, he agreed with President Trump that Americans would be willing to spend more on items like toys if tariffs result in higher prices.
Miller's comments came as the White House defended its aggressive tariff policy, with the United States imposing a 145% duty on imports from China.
That is in addition to a global 10% import tax and a 25% duty on steel and aluminum imports.
Tariffs are charged to companies importing goods into the U.S. Many companies have said the costs of tariffs would be passed along to consumers.
One of the goals of President Trump's tariff policy is to increase manufacturing in the U.S.
The manufacturing industry in the U.S. has lost over 5 million jobs since the start of the century, according to government statistics.
"The point that I think almost every American consumer agrees with is that if they had a choice… between a doll from China that might have, say, lead paint in it, that is not as well constructed as a doll made in America that has a higher environmental and regulatory standard and that is made to a higher degree of quality, and those two products are both on Amazon, that yes, you probably would be willing to pay more for a better-made American product," Miller claimed.
On Wednesday, President Trump acknowledged that tariffs could cause toy prices to jump.
Miller argued that if companies ramp up manufacturing in the U.S., eventually prices will come back down.
The Toy Association, however, has painted a bleaker picture of the impact tariffs will have on the industry. It says that 50% of small and mid-sized toy companies will go out of business due to tariffs. The industry group says that among small and mid-sized toy companies, over 80% are expecting to delay orders. An overwhelming majority of these companies are also canceling orders.
President Trump spent part of his Thursday speaking to graduating students at the University of Alabama.
"You’re the first graduating class of the golden age of America,” the president told the graduates.
After he spoke about his tariff plans and shared successes from his first 100 days in office, Trump turned back to the graduates and offered 10 pieces of advice drawn from his life and career, such as “Think of yourself as a winner,” “Be an original,” and “Never, ever give up.”
Scripps News Group and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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