We Can Lead Change and other organizations are sponsoring a No Kings rally from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, June 14, on South Randall Road and Gleneagle Drive in Geneva, as part of a Nationwide Day of Defiance.
The purpose is to voice opposition again the Trump Administration’s actions and policies – by hosting it on his 79th birthday, June 14, during planned a military parade.
In an interview with NBC News, the president denied that the parade is connected to his birthday, but that it is to honor the 250th anniversary of the Army.
“I think that people like me are appalled at his self indulgence and waste of millions of dollars in a display that is more suited for an emperor than an elected president of a republic,” said organizer Ellen Jo Ljung of Geneva.
“Especially at a time when the most vulnerable people are facing the most massive cuts to Medicaid and other programs,” Ljung said. “And making rich people richer at the expense of the people who need our support.”
This would be part of a continuing anti-Trump sentiment at rallies beginning March 8 with International Women’s Day in Geneva, a Hands Off! rally April 5, three more Hands Off! rallies April 19 in South Elgin, May 1 in Elgin and May 3 in St. Charles.
“We feel very strongly about this behavior, about his executive orders like he is some kind of king – and he is not,” Ljung said. “It is up to the American public and the American voters to say, ‘No more.’”
The group also objects to Trump using his position to make money, Ljung said, alleging his actions violate the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution.
An emolument is any form of payment or compensation received in addition to a basic salary.
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Article I, Section 9, Paragraph 8, known as the Foreign Emoluments Clause, generally prohibits federal officeholders from receiving any gift, payment, or other object or service of value from a foreign state or its rulers, officers or representatives.
“I do these rallies because they build community and show how many of us oppose his appalling behavior,” Ljung said. “And they connect us with people who are looking for a way to fight back.”