SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — Protestors braved the cold and gathered at the federal building in downtown Syracuse on Monday to participate in the “Fake National Emergency Rally,” a protest of President Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency.
The rally heavily focused on what protestors called “real emergencies” that are overlooked and undervalued by the president in his prioritization of a border wall. Protest listed their understanding of emergencies — poverty, gun violence and poor childhood education — on posters and discussed them in their rally speeches.
Much of the event focused on calling out lawmakers who have supported wall funding or have voted in favor of a border wall instead of working to fix other important local and national issues.
“Most Democrats in Congress voted for wall funding,” said Ursula Rozum, an event organizer who also led the rally. “I just want to call out all of you involved in Democratic politics, get at your people. Tell them to stop funding Trump’s wall.”
The president’s declaration of a national emergency grants the government funding for a wall at the Mexico-US border, a measure the President has promised since his 2016 campaign. The declaration allows the president to bypass Congress and fund the border wall under his own jurisdiction.
The former Democratic candidate for the New York 24th congressional district, Dana Balter, spoke critically at the event about the actions of the president.
“Donald Trump has manufactured a crisis, created one where none existed,” Balter said. “He is using propaganda to stoke fear, and we need to tell the truth.”
“He knows this isn’t a real emergency,” Balter continued. “He knows this is something of his own creation.”
The CNY Solidarity Coalition and the Syracuse Peace Council organized the rally, as a part of a national wave of protests on Monday against President Donald Trump’s designation of a national emergency.
