Stand up to Racism, an anti-racist and anti-fascist campaign group, held a “Dump Trump” protest at the Wellington Statue at Waterloo Place, Edinburgh on Wednesday evening.
The protest responded to the announcement of Donald Trump’s election win earlier that day.
Upon his return to the White House, Trump has pledged the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, blanket tariffs on trading partners, and to “stop wars”.
The Student spoke to one of the organisers of the demonstration, Gordon Dadie, who said he was concerned that “politics in Europe and America are very similar,” adding that there are far-right governments across Europe “who support [Trump] absolutely”.
He cited women’s rights to abortion and LGBTQ+ rights among his primary concerns upon Trump’s return to the White House.
Despite their efforts, only around 50 people attended the protest. Dadie attributed this to people becoming numb to the idea of Trump as president, seeing it as normal.
He predicted that the scale of their protests will pick up once Trump implements his “Project 2025” agenda, which Trump has continually disavowed.
fight back against every single word of racism […] that comes from Trump’s mouth
A student speaking at the event reported that they had handed out “hundreds” of leaflets on the University of Edinburgh campus within two hours.
They said their aim was “not to contest the election result, but to fight back against every single word of racism […] that comes from Trump’s mouth”.
A lone Trump voter, an American visiting Scotland, watched the demonstration out of curiosity.
He told The Student that he felt the mainstream media had got both candidates wrong, that “Trump is not a fascist, [and] Kamala is not an idiot”.
He said he instead gets his news from primarily alternative media, such as both the Joe Rogan Experience and Making Sense podcasts, the latter hosted by democratic supporter Sam Harris.
He reckoned many voted for Trump not because they are against refugees but because they “want to care for Americans, we […] have a right to sovereignty”. He wanted refugees to “buy into our [United States’] politics”.
Our conversation was interrupted by chants of “we reject the president-elect!”
Stand Up to Racism wants to make their voice heard in Scotland, where Trump’s mother was born and he owns golf courses.
Reflecting on the impact they hoped their demonstration would have, the student protester remarked:
“I hope what we’re doing will light a spark of hope in the people of America.”
Image via Hannah Dunford
