Many protests against Donald Trump took place during his first presidential campaign in 2016 (beginning in 2015), to his first presidency (from 2017 through 2021), to his third presidential campaign in 2024 (starting in 2022), and to his second presidency (starting in 2025), and stem from issues such as human rights, immigration, racism, and climate change. The demonstrations were mostly organized and made up of left-wing American citizens and organizations throughout the United States, though there have been occasional right-wing protests against Trump, largely about his close relationship with convicted child trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Protesters were at times confronted by counter-protesters and law enforcement, and protests at times turned aggressive.
Before 2015
1989 May 5 – A rally was organized by Rev. Al Sharpton outside Trump Tower in New York City in response to Donald Trump's death penalty advertisement of May 1. October 31 – Around 100 protestors from the HIV/AIDS activism organization ACT UP protested at Trump Tower in New York City in support of housing for people with HIV/AIDS. They protested against Trump because they saw him and the tower as a symbol of greediness and inequality. Due to it being in Halloween, many were dressed in costume. They entered the building, throwing fliers from the escalator, leading to 6 arrests. One activist dressed as Dorothy Gale told police, after they had turned off the escalator, that they must turn it back on because he was wearing heels. They did so, leading to cheers from protestors as he came down.
2009 March 3 – At least 9 Scottish protesters associated with the group Plane Stupid protested the expansion of Aberdeen Airport on grounds that private jets significantly contribute to climate change. Trump was planning an extravagant golf resort north of Aberdeen and financing growth at the airport to enable more private jets to land there. The protest included dressing in a mockery of Donald Trump's fashion and pretending to play golf on the runway. Johnny Agnew, who climbed on an airport building roof to help disrupt operations was quoted as saying: "The reality is that our generation's future is vanishing so that people like Donald Trump and his super-rich friends can jet into Aberdeen for a round of golf."
2012 April 25 – Over 40 Edinburgh Locals protested Trump's speech where he threatened to withhold funding for a golf hotel unless a planned nearby wind turbine was cancelled. Trump's fight against the wind energy developments was later shot down in court. The golf project, which was already partially completed, was built regardless of the turbine.
2016 presidential campaign 2015 Protests against Trump began following the announcement of his candidacy in June 2015, especially after he said that illegal immigrants from Mexico were "bringing drugs, bringing crime, they're rapists". June 16 – Trump announced his candidacy for President of the United States. June 29 – At a luncheon in Chicago, about 100 protesters gathered across from the City Club of Chicago to demonstrate.
July 9 – In Washington, D.C., a group of protesters gathered outside of the future Trump International Hotel, Washington, D.C. to demonstrate and "call for a worldwide boycott of Trump properties and TV shows". July 10 – While Trump spoke at a Friends of Abe gathering, about 150 protesters gathered with signs and hitting piñatas made in Trump's image. A smaller group of Trump supporters gathered near the protests and caused tension, with one Trump supporter beginning to jab at protesters. July 12 – Protesters interrupted Trump at a speech in Phoenix, Arizona, with a large sign and were later escorted out while Trump supporters chanted "U-S-A!". July 23 – Trump arrived in Laredo, Texas, and was greeted by protesters while others gathered in support. August 11 – About 150 protesters gathered in Birch Run, Michigan outside of a rally at the Birch Run Expo Center, gathered by the Democratic Party of Michigan due to what they called "anti-immigrant, anti-veteran statements" made by Trump. August 25 – During a press conference, Univision anchor Jorge Ramos began to question Trump since before being called on. After being told "Sit down! you weren't called" and "Go back to Univision", Ramos continued to protest Trump's plan to deport illegal immigrants and their children born into citizenship in the U.S. Trump motioned to his security, with Keith Schiller removing Ramos from the event. Trump later met with Ramos alone. September 3 – Trump's chief of security, Keith Schiller, was filmed punching a protester. October 14 – In Richmond, Virginia, several clashes broke out between protesters and Trump supporters. November 7 – Over 200 protesters, many of them Latino, demonstrated outside of 30 Rockefeller Plaza, where Trump was hosting Saturday Night Live. December 4 – After being interrupted ten times during a speech in Raleigh, North Carolina, Trump ended his rally. December 12 – Multiple protesters heckled Trump during a rally in Aiken, South Carolina. December 22 – More than a dozen protesters were ejected from a 9,000-person Trump rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, after interrupting the candidate's speech more than 10 times. One audience member punched a protester. Trump called the hecklers "drugged out" and "so weak" for not resisting when security guards escorted them away. Trump questioned why the protesters would heckle him in front of "a group of 9,000 maniacs that want to kill them."
2016
During the Republican primaries
January 4 – Protesters interrupted Trump several times in Lowell, Massachusetts, with some chanting support for Bernie Sanders and the Black Lives Matter movement. January 8 – During Trump's visit to Burlington, Vermont, about 700 protesters demonstrated in the City Hall Park. February 27 – In Valdosta, Georgia, 30 Valdosta State University students were asked to leave a college venue leased by the Trump campaign for a speech. February 29 – At a rally, veteran photojournalist Chris Morris was grabbed by his throat and thrown to the ground by a member of the Secret Service.
March 1 – Kashiya Nwanguma attended a Trump rally in Louisville, Kentucky, with two anti-Trump signs. She reported that Trump supporters ripped her signs away and shouted insults at her. March 10 – As Trump was being led by police from a rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina, a protester was punched by a Trump supporter. Charges of assault and battery were filed by the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office. A protester being led by police from a rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina, was sucker punched by John McGraw, a Trump supporter. McGraw later told the media that the next time he saw the protester, "we might have to kill him."Scott Conroy, Donald Trump Says He Might Pay Legal Fees For Man Who Sucker-Punched A Protester, The Huffington Post (March 13, 2015). McGraw was subsequently charged with assault and battery and given 12 months of probation. On Meet the Press, Trump said that he had instructed his team to look into paying McGraw's legal fees and said, "He obviously loves his country." March 11 – During a rally in St. Louis, at which Trump was "repeatedly interrupted by protesters, violence broke out between supporters of Trump and protesters, resulting in 32 arrests." A planned event for later that day in Chicago drew confrontations between supporters and protesters in the arena at the University of Illinois at Chicago before Trump could come out to speak, due to an unusually large number of protesters, and the campaign cancelled the rally due to safety concerns. Trump stated that he made the decision himself, commenting, "I didn't want to see people get hurt [so] I decided to postpone the rally." March 12 – Thomas Dimassimo, a 32-year-old man, attempted to rush the stage as Trump was speaking at a rally in Dayton, Ohio. Dimassimo was stopped by Secret Service agents and subsequently charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct and inducing panic. March 13 – Trump refused to take responsibility for clashes at his campaign events, criticized protesters who have dogged his rallies, and demanded that police begin to arrest rally protesters. His Kansas City rally was interrupted repeatedly by protesters in the arena while protesters outside the event were pepper sprayed by police. In an effort to dissuade future protesters, Trump may begin to request that protesters be arrested "[b]ecause then their lives are going to be ruined." March 17 – During an interview with CNN, Trump predicted "you'd have riots" if he were denied the Republican nomination despite having the most delegates at the convention. March 18 – Between 500 and 600 people engaged in a standoff outside of a rally in Salt Lake City, Utah. Police officers formed a human barricade to separate the two groups, who largely remained nonviolent. Toward the end of the rally, protesters tore down a security tent at a Trump rally in Utah and threw rocks at rally attendees as they left. Two people unsuccessfully attempted to breach the entrance of the venue. Secret Service officers secured the inside of the venue and roughly 40 police officers in riot gear repelled the protesters from entering the building. No arrests were made. March 19 – Thousands of anti-Trump protesters in New York chanted "Fuck Trump!" and "Donald Trump, Go away!" as they rallied around the Trump International Tower building near 60th St. and Columbus Circle. The group was followed by dozens of NYPD officers who lined the streets with metal barricades and blocked the protesters path as they tried to cross busy intersections. After violence broke out, police pepper-sprayed the crowd, whom police refused to let cross the street. During a simultaneous protest, protesters blocked a highway leading to Trump's Fountain Hills, Arizona rally, leading to three arrests.
April 14 – Hundreds of protesters gathered in a New York City Hyatt hotel against the wishes of the hotel staff. April 28 – Several hundred protesters in Costa Mesa, California, clashed with police and Trump supporters outside the OC Fair & Event Center, where Trump was holding a rally. Seventeen people were arrested and five police cars were damaged. April 29 – Around 1,000 to 3,000 protested in the area surrounding Burlingame, California, where Trump was to give a speech at the California GOP convention. Protesters rushed security gates at one point. Activists blocked a main intersection outside the event and vandalized a police car. Eventually, the police restored order in the area. For safety reasons, Trump himself was forced to climb over a wall and enter through a back entrance of the venue. May 1 – Thousands of May Day demonstrators marched in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday, some speaking out in support of workers and immigrants, others criticizing Trump. LAPD Sergeant Barry Montgomery told The Los Angeles Times that no one was arrested. Some protesters carried a big inflatable figure of Trump holding a Ku Klux Klan hood in his right hand.
After Trump won the primaries
May 7 – Protesters shouting "Love Trumps Hate" met Trump supporters before his second rally in Washington. Many protesters outside spoke out against Trump's words and policy stances regarding women, Hispanics, and Muslims, including his plan to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico. Later in the day, a group of protesters blocked a road near where Trump was supposed to speak, hoping to keep him from reaching the location. According to authorities, "a small number of arrests" were made. May 24 – Following a rally in Albuquerque, New Mexico, protesters began throwing rocks and bottles at police and police horses, smashed a glass door at the convention center, and burned a number of Trump signs and flags, filling the street with smoke. Video footage of the incident also showed protesters jumping on top of several police cars.