Belmont Residents Protest Trump At Waltham ‘Hands Off!’ Demonstration

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Photo: Dan Nolan (right) with the Winter Street contingent at the Hands Off protest held in Waltham on Saturday, April 5.

On a chilly and, at times, rainy Saturday, Belmont residents didn’t have to travel far to join approximately 1,000 fellow campaigners in Waltham who gathered to denounce the policies of President Donald Trump and his billionaire advisor, Elon Musk.

While many Belmontians crowded bus stops in town to head off to the main rally in Boston where 30,000 people congregated, others traveled to the Waltham on April 5 to express their opposition to Trump and Musk’s agenda of mass firing of government workers, the elimination and slashing of vital programs, attacking immigration and the beginning of mass deportations, climate change denial, and the introduction of world-wide tariffs.

The day had a celebratory feel with the protestors chanting slogans and waving colorful homemade signs reading: “Dogs against DOGE”, “Honk if you hate fascism”, “Stop the coup, Dump Trump”, and “Too many issues for one sign.” The crowd cheered drivers blowing their horns in solidarity with the rally. It was part of the national “Hands Off!” protest that organized 1,200 demonstrations in all 50 states and London, Paris, Berlin, and several Canadian cities, which attracted a total of a million attendees.

Belmont’s Dan Nolan brought eight young and enthusiastic participants, each carrying placards with messages concerning climate change awareness and supporting the LGBTQ community.

“It’s the Winter Street contingent,” said Nolan, who came to express their collective displeasure with Trump’s actions since taking office in January. We’re here to protest Trump and Musk, who are dangerous people to our country and the world,” he said, holding a “Fire ICE” sign.

Well-known community members Bonnie Friedman and David Merfeld decided to skip the much larger protest rally in Boston.

“We felt [Waltham] would have fewer distractions [to the protest],” said Friedman. “The crowd is wonderful. It’s a great time.”

Another Belmont resident, reluctant to provide their name as they are employed at a university targeted by the Trump administration, was adamant about attending.

“It’s great that we can come together to express our frustrations, but also our determination that we will ultimately be successful in getting rid of [Trump],” they said.

No Love For Donald In Belmont As Haley Wins Presidential Primary; Biden Is Dems Preference

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Photo: Town Clerk Ellen Cushman announcing state presidential primary results

While the results of Super Tuesday’s Republican Presidential Primaries held across the country on March 5 solidified his hold on the party, Donald Trump did not find the same level of love in the Town of Homes.

The former president and leading GOP presidential candidate came out second best in Belmont, trailing former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, 1,140 to 851 (55 percent to 41 percent), in the Republican contest. Former NJ Gov. Chris Christie lead the also rans with 25 votes, followed by “no preference” (23), Vivek Ramaswamy (12), Ron DeSantis (9) and Asa Huchinson with 6.

Belmont Republicans proved themselves as outliers as Trump handily won the Bay State, picking up all the available 40 delegates with 60 percent of the vote to Haley’s 37 percent. Haley would suspend her campaign on Wednesday, March 6.

You can find the unofficial results for all races at the Town Clerk’s webpage.

Over on the Democratic side of the ledger, incumbent president Joe Biden secured 3,146 votes of the 3,820 ballots cast by those affiliated with the Democratic party. Just under 10 percent of the Democratic vote, 375 in total, where marked as “no preference.” Dean Phillips (123) and Marianne Williamson (95) also received votes.

“No Preference” topped the field in the Libertarian race with 12 votes, tripling the tally of Jacob George Hornberger with 4.

Belmont Democrats elected Steven Owens as the State Committee Man and Jessica Nahigian as State Committee Woman while the Republicans selected John and Catherine Umina as their representatives.

There was no surprise who topped the field for each parties 35 member Town Committee: Anne Mahon for the Democrats and Tomi Olson for the Republicans.

A total of 5,934 ballots (out of 18,217 voters in town) were cast, with 64 percent Democratic ballots and 35 percent Republican.

It was slightly past 10 p.m. when Town Clerk Ellen Cushman read the primary results, a delay of nearly 90 minutes. A surge of last-minute ballots placed in the drop box at Town Hall created the night’s backlog as each dropped-off ballot is required to be brought to the voter’s home precinct to be tallied.