Nearly 500 people turned out in an eastern Michigan town to protest what they believe is an attempt to do away with Social Security and Medicare by the Trump administration, despite President Donald Trump’s vows that Social Security and Medicare are exempt from budget cuts, which are designed to reduce the federal deficit and ultimately the national debt.
The Saturday, April 5, the Port Huron event, was held at Pine Grove Park on the banks of the St. Clair River and coincided with hundreds of similar protests around the country.
The occasion was billed as “Mobilization Day” by a group called Hands Off, a national organization that led resistance to Trump in his first term and has been reactivated to oppose him and his agenda in his second term.
It was the Hands Off online announcement of the rallies that motivated Margo Romero, a middle-aged Port Huron area resident, to organize the local protest.
Romero is the founder of an organization called Blue Water Indivisible (BWI). She told The Epoch Times that BWI is “fighting for the people’s right to Social Security and Medicare.”
When asked where she got the idea that Trump intended to do away with Social Security, Romero answered: “He has already shut down Social Security offices and vital phone lines. Wheelchair-bound people are going to be forced to travel up to hundreds of miles.”
Romero said BWI “is not a political organization.”
“We are a socially conscious movement standing for all people’s rights. We renounce all violence,” she said.
Speaking to the protesters with a megaphone, Romero said BWI is a community-based, grassroots group that “is not left or right” and will also engage in philanthropic projects such as feeding the hungry.
Romero then rehearsed the crowd in chants such as “Hands off Social Security,” “This is what democracy looks like,” and “Canada is our neighbor. Love thy neighbor.”
Port Huron is a border town with close economic ties to the Canadian city of Sarnia, Ontario, which lies just across the St. Clair River.
For decades, Canadians, seeking to pay lower prices for groceries, gasoline, and other consumer goods have driven across two major bridges to the Port Huron area to shop. The Canadian business is highly valued by U.S. retailers.
Referring to Trump’s tariffs on Canada, local protest organizer Mary Lou Creamer told The Epoch Times, “People are appalled at what has happened to our brothers and sisters in our close ally, Canada.”
Creamer noted that the crowd consisted of elderly retirees, baby boomers, and union members.
“Three hundred people registered for the protest online. They mostly came from St. Clair, Macomb, and Sanilac counties,” Creamer said.
“Nobody is being paid by anybody. These are people who care about our democracy.”
Trump carried all three counties in the 2024 election.
Joe, a senior citizen from St. Clair County who declined to give his last name, told The Epoch Times: “I don’t fault Trump. I blame the voters for not paying close attention to what he promised and for not following up.
“I’m worried about Social Security. Doing away with it will affect Trump voters, too.”
Through cold and misty weather, the protestors marched nearly a mile from Pine Grove Park to the main rally site under the two international bridges.
When asked why she was so enthusiastic, Julie from Algonac, Michigan, who also declined to give her last name, said: “You are looking at an average citizen who is fed up. This is my first protest ever.”
Many of the protesters carried what appeared to be homemade signs, one of which read “Make Good Trouble.”
When asked what she meant by “good trouble,” the woman carrying the sign said, “Good trouble is keeping our democracy alive by participation in our government.”
“Democracy is not a spectator sport,” read another sign. “That’s why I’m involved,” said the bearer.
Ken Keith, from Sanilac County, told The Epoch Times that he came out to protest over Social Security.
“Downsizing government can be a good thing, but not in the manner it is being done by Trump and Musk,” Keith said.
A half-dozen Trump supporters, scattered along the popular riverside fishing walkway that was the protesters’ route to the main rally, sparred with the passersby.
One Trump supporter said of the protesters, “These people are terribly misinformed and misled.”
