PORTLAND/WASHINGTON: Another night of nationwide protests against Donald Trump’s election came to a head in Portland, where thousands marched and some smashed store windows, lit firecrackers and sparked a dumpster blaze. Police termed the protest a riot and used “less lethal munitions” to help clear the streets.
Accusing Trump of racism, sexism and xenophobia, protesters from New York to Los Angeles blocked traffic and chanted slogans like “Not my president” and “We reject the president-elect.”
The worst violence was in the northwestern city of Portland, where protesters hurled projectiles at officers, vandalized businesses, smashed car windows and attacked drivers.
Police said they were treating the protests as a “riot” due to what they said was “extensive criminal and dangerous behavior.”
In his first comments on the unrest, Trump blamed the media.
“Just had a very open and successful presidential election. Now professional protesters, incited by the media, are protesting. Very unfair!” tweeted Trump.
Officers began physically pushing back against the crowd that at times threw objects at them as midnight approached, arresting several people and using flash-bang devices and types of smoke or tear gas to force people to disperse.
After several orders to leave, police said officers used “less lethal munitions,” such as pepper spray and rubber projectiles. Live video footage showed officers firing what appeared to be the non-lethal items. It wasn’t immediately clear if anyone was hit.
Protest number continued to dwindle through the night and as the early morning hours wore on, police announced to remaining clusters of protesters to immediately disperse or be “subject to arrest and the use of riot-control agents.” Police said they made 26 arrests.
Around the country from New York to Chicago to California, in red states as well as blue, hundreds of demonstrators marched through streets, many for the third straight night though in somewhat smaller numbers.
Trump himself fired back late Thursday, tweeting: “Just had a very open and successful presidential election. Now professional protesters, incited by the media, are protesting. Very unfair!“
In Denver, protesters managed to shut down Interstate 25 near downtown Denver briefly Thursday night. Police said demonstrators made their way onto the freeway and traffic was halted in the northbound and southbound lanes for about a half-hour. Protesters also briefly shut down interstate highways in Minneapolis and Los Angeles.
In San Francisco’s downtown, high-spirited high school students marched through, chanting “not my president” and holding signs urging a Donald Trump eviction. They waved rainbow banners and Mexican flags, as bystanders in the heavily Democratic city high-fived the marchers from the sidelines.
“As a white, queer person, we need unity with people of color, we need to stand up,” said Claire Bye, a 15-year-old sophomore at Academy High School. “I’m fighting for my rights as an LGBTQ person. I’m fighting for the rights of brown people, black people, Muslim people.”
In New York City, a large group of demonstrators once again gathered outside Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue Thursday night. They chanted angry slogans and waved banners baring anti-Trump messages.
“You got everything straight up and down the line,” demonstrator David Thomas said. “You got climate change, you got the Iran deal. You got gay rights, you got mass deportations. Just everything, straight up and down the line, the guy is wrong on every issue.”
In Philadelphia, protesters near City Hall held signs bearing slogans like “Not Our President,” “Trans Against Trump” and “Make America Safe For All.”
About 500 people turned out at a protest in Louisville, Kentucky and in Baltimore, hundreds of people marched to the stadium where the Ravens were playing a football game.
Hundreds of protesters demonstrated outside Trump Tower in Chicago and a growing group was getting into some shoving matches with police in Oakland, California.
Mostly peaceful protests also surged again in Los Angles. City News Service reported that dozens of protesters were arrested around midnight when they refused to budge from an area.
As expected, the demonstrations prompted some social media blowback from Trump supporters accusing protesters of sour grapes or worse, though there were no significant counter-protests.
Trump supporters said the protesters were not respecting the democratic process.
As of Thursday, Democrat Hillary Clinton was leading Trump in votes nationwide 47.7 percent to 47.5 percent, but Trump secured victory in the Electoral College.
Trump protests surge across nation
Trump protests surge across nation
‘People will vote for us’: Bangladesh’s Tarique Rahman confident of win in landmark election
- In first 180 days, Tarique Rahman plans democratic reform, restoring law and order, focusing on job creation
- He says he admires Vision 2030, wants to visit Kingdom as one of the first countries and perform Umrah
DHAKA: After almost two decades in self-exile, Tarique Rahman, the leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, is expecting victory in Thursday’s election following a change in regime that for years restricted his supporters’ voting rights.
Rahman left Bangladesh in 2008 and settled in London, facing various convictions brought against him by the administration of Sheikh Hasina, the BNP’s archenemy who led the country until mid-2024, when she was toppled in a student-led uprising.
He returned in late December, received by millions of people who lined his route from the airport to the center of Dhaka. He believes they will back his party at the polls.
“BNP is the most popular party in the country. We have been struggling for the people’s voting rights for more than 17 years. We represent the people’s expectations and aspirations,” he told Arab News in Dhaka on Tuesday.
“I believe the people will vote for us and, inshallah, we will achieve a landslide victory.”
Rahman, 60, is the son of BNP’s founder, Ziaur Rahman, a 1971 Liberation War hero, who became president in 1977. After his assassination in 1981, Rahman’s mother, Khaleda Zia, took over the party’s helm and in 1991 became the country’s first woman prime minister.
Rahman assumed the BNP’s chairmanship following her death from a prolonged illness, just days after his return to Bangladesh.
In Thursday’s election, the BNP will race against another 50 parties, including Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, which is forecast to emerge as the main opposition party in the next government. The Awami League, led by the ousted premier Hasina, has been banned from contesting, following deadly unrest that led to the party’s removal from power in August 2024.
An interim administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, which has been tasked with preparing the general election, banned Awami League’s activities, citing national security and a war crimes investigation against the party’s top leadership.
The UN Human Rights Office has accused the former government and its security apparatus of systematic rights violations to suppress the student-led protests between July 15 and Aug. 5, 2024. An estimated 1,400 people were killed.
If Rahman wins the election, he wants his administration to pursue accountability for the former leadership and meet the political and economic expectations of the youth movement that brought about the change.
In the first six months, his party’s immediate priorities include restoring law and order, democratic reform and creating a business-friendly environment.
“Our 180-day program includes development plans across key sectors, including employment for 10 million people,” he said.
“We will also accelerate private sector growth, ensure employment-oriented economic recovery and develop the blue economy. We will focus heavily on the ICT sector and AI-driven technological innovation.”
In international cooperation, he will prioritize partnerships with Gulf Cooperation Council countries, especially Saudi Arabia — home to more than 3 million Bangladeshis — with whom strong commercial relations were established during his father’s rule, and which is likely to be one of the first countries he would visit if he becomes prime minister.
“The highest number of Bangladeshi migrant workers are employed in Saudi Arabia, and the remittances they send significantly contribute to our economy,” he said.
“I admire the Saudi Vision 2030, and I am sincerely looking forward to working with the leadership of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ... I would definitely like to visit Saudi Arabia early in my term. Personally, I also wish to visit the holy mosque, Al-Masjid Al-Haram, Makkah, to perform Umrah.”
In relations with other countries, especially the regional powers India and Pakistan, the BNP government’s policy would be guided by national interest, which “is not about any specific country,” Rahman said.
“We want good relations with all our foreign friends, particularly our neighbors. We are committed to building relations of equality, cooperation and friendship with our neighbors. The foundation of that relationship will be mutual respect and understanding, which will ensure our collective progress.”
Exchanges with Pakistan, from which Bangladesh gained independence in 1971, have improved following Hasina’s removal — after decades of unease. At the same time, ties with India, where the former premier fled after the 2024 unrest, have since deteriorated.
In November, a special tribunal in Dhaka convicted the former prime minister of crimes against humanity, and Bangladesh requested that the Indian government extradite her.
“We want to establish justice in the country,” Rahman said. “No one is above the law. Anyone who has committed crimes must face trial. This is not about any specific political party; it is about justice and rule of law.”
During Hasina’s time in office, Rahman faced multiple corruption cases — allegations he has denied, saying they were politically motivated.
“There were so many false charges filed against me, and the situation in the country was not stable in terms of law and order,” he said. “Despite all the odds — as I have committed and communicated to my countrymen and women — I have returned back to my beloved Bangladesh before the historic national election and (I am) looking forward to it eagerly.”
