You can’t take ‘man on the street’ interviews TOO seriously. They serve as a great way to amuse yourself or to feel much smarter than others, but to maintain my integrity, I have to admit that there is always a lot of cherry-picking to get the juiciest bits.
On the other hand, you should never be able to go to a college campus and find people who don’t know where Canada is, how many branches of government there are, or even be able to identify what century the Civil War took place in.
Similarly, one shouldn’t be able to interview people at a protest in which they are chanting angry mantras and holding signs calling for the assassination of somebody and discover they have no idea what they are angry about. The are raging, but have no idea about what.
“Donald Trump is trying to repeal parts of The Constitution. Like rights.”
“Which rights?”
“I don’t have all the information.” pic.twitter.com/hJh0gvZnkg— The Redheaded libertarian (@TRHLofficial) April 6, 2025
People were out in force to protest the cut on Social Security benefits, of which there have been none. They worry that they are losing rights, but can’t name one that they have lost.
Certainly not the right to protest or assert that Donald Trump should die. For people concerned that fascists are roaming the land, they are pretty confident that wishing for the death of Orange Hitler is consequence-free.
One of the Tesla protest organizers, Indivisible, offered reimbursements of up to $200 for attending protests.
Some organizers have also paid protesters directly to attend anti-Elon protests.
Some have even put Craigslist ads up.
It’s almost all a fraud. pic.twitter.com/9scPs9ODxT
— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) March 31, 2025
I expect that most of the protesters weren’t paid, but there isn’t any question that many of them were. It has been a common tactic for quite a while, but during Trump’s second term, the efforts have scaled up quite a bit.
This woman was a paid protester at a Hands Off Protest. She details what she had to do to get paid.
They told her not to wear anything MAGA and she could not wear red. So she wore a black shirt and jeans. They also told her she would get paid if she brought a sign. Again,… pic.twitter.com/rbaFXbAApg
— 👉M-Û-R-Č-H👈 (@TheEXECUTlONER_) April 7, 2025
There are all sorts of examples of people with talking points handed to them and chants pre-printed to ensure they are prepared to participate. It is a kind of theater, and the media is more than happy to play along with the charade.
Check this.
Bus on the way to their “rally”. @LauraLoomer found the organization behind it. pic.twitter.com/tm60UDsUX1— Shirion Collective (@ShirionOrg) April 6, 2025
I wouldn’t want to claim that this movement has no organic support. I doubt that people at Indivisible rallies were told to shout about assassinating Trump as happened, but the core movement is astroturf.
Protestors at an Indivisible Greater Grand Rapids event shout “WE KILL THEM” in response to a speaker asking what they should do.
They need to be arrested and charged. pic.twitter.com/sXC8WdzfcX
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) April 6, 2025
The left is angry. They have hated Trump for a decade, and have been building up to mass resistance and violence for as long. That time is now, and if the campaign to terrorize Tesla drivers is any indication, it will only get worse.
