Inside DC's Gray Resistance: Why so many Trump protests are now led by senior citizens.

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NEWS & POLITICS
Inside DC’s Gray Resistance
Why so many Trump protests are now led by senior citizens.

WRITTEN BY IKE ALLEN | PHOTOGRAPHED BY EVY MAGES | PUBLISHED ON OCTOBER 20, 2025


A recurring protest at the Van Ness Metro is led by older Washingtonians.

On a bright September afternoon, a small cluster of people held up anti-Trump signs near the Van Ness Metro, as they have each Thursday afternoon since the spring. Every few seconds, a driver on Connecticut Avenue blared a horn to show support. Peggy McNutt, sitting on a rollator and brandishing a sign that said “No Trump Fascist Regime,” told me she’d taken part in anti–Vietnam War protests, gay-rights marches, and pro-choice events since moving to DC in 1958. But none felt as urgent as this moment. “People are running scared of what he’ll do to them, their jobs, and their families,” she said.

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