Tuesday 'Resist Trump' rallies part of national MoveOn movement

Horns blared in apparent support. Other passing motorists offered thumbs-up gestures. Alternately, there were a handful of middle-finger rebukes.

Around midday Tuesday, 21 people stood on the curb along Kalispell’s Main Street near Depot Park. Their placards displayed messages intended to offer an alternative to the division and rancor they allege is sown by President Donald Trump.

One placard read, “Right of Asylum — No Wall.” Another declared, “Unite Us, Don’t Divide Us.”

Many participants in the weekly rally were old enough to be retired and many are, a reality that provoked laughter when one passing motorist barked, “Get a job!”

Niki Gary, 8, was the youngest participant. His sign read, “End Racism.”

The weekly anti-Trump rallies launched soon after his January 2017 inauguration as part of the MoveOn organization’s national Resist Trump Tuesdays.

And the Kalispell event has been held every Tuesday since, rain or shine, said Betty Kuffel, an organizer. The rallies, which she emphasized are peaceful, occur from noon to 1 p.m.

This week, participants included Arlene Ross, the mother of two sons with a history of military service.

Brian Ross served in the Army National Guard and is now a civilian, she said. Eric Ross remains in the U.S. Army and has served two tours in Afghanistan; he is now stationed at Fort George G. Meade in Maryland, she said.

She said her opposition to Trump is not incongruent with her role as a military mother.

“All military takes an oath to support the Constitution of the United States, not to support the president,” Ross said. “We don’t do kings in this country. We don’t do tyrants.”

She said Trump’s posturing as pro-military galls her.

“Where was he during Vietnam?” she said.

Rally participant Jim Rahn Sr., 71, served in Vietnam. He held a sign that read “Honk for Democracy.”

Rahn and others at the rally Tuesday expressed concerns that Trump seems not to care about the nation’s founding institutions or principles.

“I feel the president is undermining our democracy for his own interests, not ours,” he said. “The Democrats have to stand together. Otherwise, we’re lost.”

George McLean joined the gathering Tuesday.

“My main fear is I think Trump is a threat to our democracy,” he said.

McLean said he believes the Tuesday events have changed a few minds in the region.

“I think one thing we’ve accomplished is to make people aware, who are otherwise afraid to speak out, that there is another viewpoint in Kalispell distinct from the ‘groupthink’ that is so intimidating here, so typical of a small town,” he said.

Kuffel said the purpose of the weekly rallies is to raise awareness and encourage people to vote.

“We have found it to be actually very therapeutic because people have been so distressed,” she said.

Several participants said they’ve noticed a recent uptick in expressions of support, including more honking horns and thumbs-up gestures.

Meanwhile, Republican State Rep. John Fuller said he is confident Trump’s supporters in the Flathead Valley will be heard again in November 2020.

Fuller, chairman of Flathead County Republicans, likened the president’s regional backers to the Silent Majority once touted by President Richard Nixon.

Fuller said he believes the nation’s strong economy, low unemployment and status as an energy exporter will be among the factors leading to Trump’s re-election.

And he likened the weekly rally participants to the noisy grasshoppers, cited by philosopher Edmund Burke, that make a din out of proportion to their influence.

Reporter Duncan Adams may be reached at dadams@dailyinterlake.com or 758-4407.