Protesters rally against Trump: Attendees angered by Musk’s influence, Democrats’ inaction
A small, noisy and growing group of demonstrators voiced opposition to President Donald Trump and his advisor Elon Musk near the steps of the Jackson County Library in Sylva on Feb. 17. Cory Vaillancourt photo
On a holiday meant to honor the nation’s presidents — past and present — demonstrators in Jackson and Haywood counties joined others who gathered in cities across the country to protest what they describe as a dangerous concentration of power under Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk.
Holding signs and chanting slogans, they voiced deep concerns about what they see as fundamental threats to democracy.
In Sylva, beneath the Jackson County Public Library, Nilofer Couture stood on the steps addressing a small but determined crowd.
“We’re not celebrating Presidents Day because we don’t really believe that he’s our president because he’s not speaking on behalf of all of us,” said Couture, who is an elected member of the Forest Hills Village Council. “We believe we can come together to fight this fascist government that is happening right now because they’re just taking away all our rights and just firing people. We need to stand together and support each other during this time.”
Couture, like others at the demonstration, expressed fears that democratic institutions were being eroded. She called for action before the next election, urging people to make their voices heard.
“We know that we don’t have power right now, but we do have the power of collective community and people,” she said. “We want to resist, openly and visibly, because we want people to know that we are not going anywhere.”
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The concern over government overreach extends beyond Trump’s influence; demonstrators pointed to Musk’s growing interference in federal operations, including accessing important government systems and firing thousands of federal employees thought to be critical to the nation’s prosperity, security and reputation across the world.
Gayle Weiss was also part of the Sylva demonstration, which grew to more than 100 people just after it began under sunny skies at noon on Feb. 17.
“Allowing an unelected, foreign-born billionaire with absolutely no oversight to access our most sensitive systems, including our IRS system, which would give them access to every American’s Social Security number, birthday, personal information, tax returns, the whole nine yards … it is so scary,” Weiss said. “It only took Hitler 53 days to take over Germany, right? And this guy is already on day 30.”
Weiss said she is willing to continue protesting as long as necessary, citing personal fears that the rights of marginalized groups, including LGBTQ+ people, could be in jeopardy.
“I’m absolutely threatened,” she said. “So threatened that I’m going to take a gun class.”
While demonstrators criticized Trump and Musk, some also expressed frustration with the Democratic Party’s response. Couture said she wished Democratic leaders would be more visible and vocal.
“It seems like the activists in the country are taking power and showing up, and we need [Democratic officials] to show up for us as well,” she said.
Weiss was a bit more forgiving but still urged Democrats to be more forceful in their opposition to Trump and Musk.
“I think they’re doing what they can do. I mean, given that they are the minority party, I think that the entourage of Democratic lawyers out there, every time they’ve brought a case to court, Trump has lost, so that’s very encouraging,” she said. “But I don’t think it’s enough.”
But Weiss simultaneously acknowledged that the courts, especially the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, appear to be biased against the interests of anyone except the man who appointed three of them.
“The guardrails are off,” she said. “You know the guardrails are off the courts. You know the Supreme Court is a conservative majority. I don’t even think it’s conservative. That’s not even the word to describe it. They are obviously upholding their oath to one person, and that’s King Trump.”
Helen Ryde, who gathered with demonstrators in front of the historic Haywood County Courthouse, described the current state of American democracy as the result of long-term planning by conservative forces.
“This is not the work of the president that’s happening. It’s the work of decades of people who have been organizing under Project 2025 to overturn our democracy,” Ryde said, noting the small gathering of five people who showed up to the hastily-organized event. “When we said, ‘Save our democracy’ when we were getting ready for the election, I think people thought we were kind of being a little overreactive, like it wasn’t going to be that bad. And I don’t know how much more needs to happen before, people say, ‘Oh, it’s that bad and worse,’ because it is.
She also pushed back against the notion that the Presidents Day protests across the nation were purely partisan.
“I believe that if folks who voted for Trump were fully aware of the implications of everything that’s happening, there would be more people standing with us right now,” she said. “In order for change to happen, this needs to not be a partisan movement. This needs to be a bipartisan movement to say, ‘Our democracy literally is at stake.’”
Demonstrators at the Haywood courthouse went largely unnoticed, however those in Sylva earned honks and waves of support from most who passed by in cars or on foot.
There were no counterdemonstrators at the Haywood or Jackson County events.
