Thousands expected at ‘Not My Presidents Day’ rallies Monday – USA TODAY

Anti-Trump protestors are taking advantage of the federal holiday that celebrates Presidents to oppose the one that is currently in office. USA TODAY NETWORK

People attend a rally and a mock funeral for the presidency Saturday in New York.(Photo: Spencer Platt)

Anti-Trump activists have seized on Mondays federal holiday to organize Not My Presidents Day rallies in cities around the country.

Protest leaders say they expect thousands to take to the streets in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and as many as two dozen other communities in the latest round of demonstrations to oppose the policies of President Donald Trump.

Some 13,000 Facebook users, for instance, say they plan to join a noonprotest Monday near Manhattans Central Park.

While we acknowledge that Donald Trump holds the current title, the policies hes trying to put in place are not the beliefs shared by the majority of the people, said Nova Calise, a television production manager and one of the organizers of New York event.

We do not accept Donald Trump as our president because he does not represent us, she said, citing his policies on abortion and immigration as top concerns. Organizers say speakers will include Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and Sonia Ossorio, who runs the New York City chapter of the National Organization for Women.

Calise said activists around the country were inspired by plans for a Presidents Day protest in Los Angeles and have collaborated via Facebook for about three weeks. No one expected this to get so large, she said. Thats the power of social media.

Other protests include:

In Los Angeles, activists plan a 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. protest outside City Hall.

In Atlanta, organizers plan what they call an ImPEACH Now march.

In Chicago, 3,700 people have indicated on Facebook that they will join Mondays noon rally across the Chicago River from the Trump Tower and another 16,000 say they are interested in the event.

One of the Chicago organizers, business professor Laura Hartman, said the event has an overarching theme of unity. Hartman said Trumps early moves from attacking journalists to imposing limits on immigration could splinter the public.

We dont want to pick an issue, said Hartman, who also attended the massive Womens March in Washington last month. By embracing a broad umbrella, we can show this administration that the numbers against it are broad."

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Protesters staged othermarches and rallies in the run-up to Presidents Day. In New York, for instance, activists gathered downtown Saturday at Washington Square Park to hold a mock funeral for the presidency. New York Police Department officials Sunday declined to provide a crowd estimate, citing department policy.

On Saturday, Trump staged his own rally for supporters in Florida,drawing roughly 9,000 people to an aircraft hangar in Melbourne.

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