PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Democratic leaders railed against the Republican administration on Sunday and urged residents to take action — but offered little on what their strategy is to oppose President Trump's agenda.

 

"Trump doesn't want to make America great again," U.S. Sen. Ed Markey told hundreds at the Colonial Theatre. "He wants to make America hate again."

 

Markey headlined the "No Kings in America" rally for Democracy on Sunday brought forward by the local Four Freedoms Coalition. (President Trump had described himself as "king" in a tweet claiming he'd halted congestion pricing — he did not - in New York City.)

 

More than 700 people packed into the theater to hear calls to action against President Donald Trump's recent orders targeting the LGBTQ-plus community, immigrants, and governmental programs.

 

"We're up against Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and their racist, sexist, xenophobic minions who have no respect for democracy. Their bill of rights is the freedom to discriminate, the freedom to leave people behind, the freedom to hurt people indiscriminately," Markey said.

 

"In their version of reality, we have no Constitution, we have no checks and balances, and the only history chapter Trump seems to remember is Chapter 11."

 

Markey said that when Trump and House Republicans say "Let's cut $880 billion from Medicaid," we call that MassHealth.

 

"Two million of the seven million people in Massachusetts are on MassHealth. Three hundred and thirty thousand people with disabilities are on MassHealth. Seventy percent of people in nursing homes are on Medicaid. Half of them have Alzheimer's. We call them grandma and grandpa," he asserted.

 

"He wants to slash $880 billion in Medicaid that goes to those who need it the most. Half of all children in our state are covered by Medicaid. Fifty-nine percent of people with disabilities depend on Medicaid."

 

He said the Republicans' budget resolution could reduce the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program by $230 billion and would give the richest Americans an extra $6 million per year in tax breaks. The average SNAP benefit is $6.20 per person a day.

 

"It is to pay for all the tax breaks for Elon Musk and the billionaires who sat behind him on Inauguration Day," Markey said.

 

"He put the three wealthiest people in the United States in front of the cabinet at the inauguration. That's all we have to know that we are now living in a world of, for, and by billionaires to control the agenda for everyone else in our country," he said.

 

"And those three people, those three billionaires (Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg) and (Executive Chairman Jeff Bezos) and Elon Musk, they control more wealth than the bottom 50 percent of our population combined."

 

Mayor Peter Marchetti said "all of us have been facing challenges" over the last couple of months but people must stay true to their values and stand together to navigate times that test patience and resilience.

 

"In recent months, it's been especially difficult. With cuts to federal agencies and funding, we are starting to feel the impact at the local level," he said.

 

"We are being asked to review our federal grants and to make sure they are compliant with orders being issued. If we don't make changes, we run the risk of losing vital funding. I'm doing everything in my power to make sure that Pittsfield has the resources we need while holding true to the values that we have."

 

He emphasized that all politics are local and that local government is the backbone of American democracy.

 

"And we need you to join us in this work We need you to volunteer to serve on boards and commissions. We need you to run for elected office. We need to hear your advocacy. We need you to be involved and stay engaged," Marchetti said.

 

"We must pay attention to what is happening at all levels of government as there's always an impact on what will happen here at home."

 

State Sen. Paul Mark opened the rally and recognized partners in state government "because I want you to know and we want you to know your state government is in this fight as much as our senator, as much as our community, as much as anybody else."  

 

State Reps. John Barrett III, Tricia Farley-Bouvier, Leigh Davis, and Governor's Council member Tara Jacobs were in attendance.

 

"Two hundred and fifty years ago next month, the king of England at the time George III decided he was going to try to interfere in what in some places was 150 years of self-rule and self-government and town meetings and elections," Mark said.

 

"George III decided he was going to bring hell to Boston and then he found out that bringing hell to Boston is like bringing sand to the beach."

 

Mark outlined the state's strong front against tyranny during and since the American Revolution and added, "The king is not coming back to Massachusetts."

 

Berkshire NAACP President Dennis Powell said there is one race on this earth: the human race "And the human race is entitled to human rights and human freedom and freedoms of speech and expression."

 

"The foundation of our democracy, protected by our Constitution, is the idea that all people regardless of their ethnicity, religion, gender identity, or who they love, deserve these rights," he added.

 

He said nobody protected the democracy of his descendants, his grandfather seeing some protection and his parents a little bit more.

 

"And I, as a Black man, have seen more than many but today those hard-fought protections are under attack again. But today, those hard-fought protections are attacks against not just me but you. All of us," Powell said.

 

"… Many of you believed that your democracy would always protect you. You are now seeing that it will not be unless we stand to defend you."

 

He emphasized that no group stands alone in democracy.

 

Lenox resident James Brooke, who lived in Ukraine for six years, was glad to see the turnout of support for the country.  

 

"It's disgraceful what's happening," he said. "I don't know if it can be turned around in time but I'm glad to see the turnout today of many pro-Ukraine posters out there."

 

During his remarks, Markey said the U.S. has an "arm of Russia operating from the Oval Office and it is a clear and present danger to the entire Democratic World but we will not stop supporting Ukraine."

 

Markey told attendees that the nation is confronted with climate change, gun violence, income inequality, and racial injustice, and it's hard to imagine how to make it a place our children and grandchildren deserve to inherit.

 

"We cannot give into the kind of despair that makes it too hard to get up and fight because that's what Donald Trump wants," he said.

 

"The fear, the resignation, he wants us to give up but that's not what we do here in Massachusetts."

 

The event included an opening prayer from the Rev. Juana McFarland of Unity Fellowship Church; the hymn "Lift Every Voice," often called the Black national anthem, was sung by Wanda Houston; music performances by Doug Mishkin and by Jason Ennis and Natalia Bernal; and remarks from Democratic Party Chair Steve Kerrigan, social justice activist and Suffolk University student Joey Pisani, and from Liz Recko-Morrison of the Massachusetts Community College Council. U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren and state Attorney General Andrea Campbell provided video remarks.

 

Across the street from the Colonial, Trump supporters staged a protest before the event, waving flags and holding signs denouncing diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.