Dozens of people gathered outside the Irvine Civic Center on Monday afternoon to protest President Donald Trump and his administration, particularly Elon Musk‘s unelected but powerful advisory role within it.
The rally in Irvine was one of many similar demonstrations across the country dubbed “No Kings on Presidents Day” by the 50501 Movement, a group that describes itself as a grassroots response “to the anti-democratic and illegal actions of the Trump administration and its plutocratic allies.”
Many outside the Civic Center said they showed up to advocate for democracy against what they see as an oligarchical threat in billionaire Musk, who — through the newly created Department of Government Efficiency — has been given the green light from the president to consolidate control over large swaths of the federal government.
Ostensibly, Musk’s charge is to eliminate what the Trump adminsitration deems to be wasteful and fraudulent federal spending. In practice, Musk has also seemingly been granted the authority to regulate agencies that hold sway over his companies.
“In essence, it feels like if we don’t take action, then our democracy is gonna be taken away under our nose,” said Susan Hahn of Dana Point. “I feel an urgent need to do something about it.”
Hahn and other protesters gathered at the four corners of the intersection of Alton Parkway and Harvard Avenue Monday afternoon. Without disrupting traffic, they waved American flags through the crosswalks and beckoned cars to honk in defense of democracy.
“I am here to defend the Constitution,” said Matthew Thorne, who drove from Temple City to attend the Irvine rally. “I fear our democracy is being trampled on. An unelected official has seized control of America’s purse strings.”
As the protest unfolded, Musk’s DOGE team was seeking access to an Internal Revenue Service system with taxpayers’ sensitive records, including tax returns, Social Security numbers, addresses, banking details and employment information.
A White House spokesperson said direct access to the system will enable Musk’s team to root out deeply entrenched fraud and abuse, according to the New York Times.
Back in Irvine, some demonstrators took offense to specific Trump administration policies, specifically the dismantling of USAID and the end of government diversity programs.
“I used to be a huge Musk fan,” said Cullen Lonergan of Costa Mesa. “I’ve never been a political person.”
Then came the turning point for him: Trump’s proclamation in January that there are only two biological sexes, male and female.
At the time, Lonergan worked for an addiction treatment center in Costa Mesa. The Trump policy led him to quit, he said.
“Many of our clients are transgender,” he said. “After Trump’s proclamation, my supervisor and I disagreed about how we could help them.”
“When you don’t respect our nation’s diversity, then you don’t seem to care what America’s about,” he said. “That’s why I’m here today.”
