Quick Take:
More than 40 county residents gathered at the corner of Ocean Street and Water Street to protest the U.S.-Israel war in Iran and President Donald Trump’s threats to blow up power plants, bridges, and other civilian infrastructure.
More than 40 protesters gathered at the intersection of Ocean and Water Streets on Tuesday evening for a rapid-response protest against the U.S.-Israel war in Iran and President Donald Trump’s increasingly serious threats against the country. The protest, organized by Indivisible Santa Cruz County, was announced just hours earlier on social media.
Trump, however, walked back the threats later on Tuesday, and announced a two-week pause in attacks on Iran. Iran accepted the ceasefire, and Israel joined as well, according to news reports.
Tensions had ballooned in recent days, coming to a head Tuesday morning, when Trump wrote a threatening message on social media that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought again,” if Iran did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump has backed down from deadlines multiple times since the war began. Indivisible volunteer and clinical psychologist Diane Bridgeman said that while the pattern is exhausting, and at times predictable, it’s important that people don’t normalize the behavior.
“We have to start questioning why we’re allowing him to continue to do it,” she said. “He’s so immoral and I worry about the younger generation, and what they’re learning from the way he treats people.”
Aptos resident Mike Borg stood at the sidewalk in a taco costume to represent the popular acronym TACO, standing for “Trump Always Chickens Out.” He said that although Trump walking back his threats wasn’t surprising, his violent rhetoric was more serious. Borg said people need to keep the pressure up through protesting, writing to legislators, and staying informed.
