TOMS RIVER – The term “mayday” is used as a distress signal in voice-procedure radio communications but on May 1, also referenced as May Day, it served as the theme for another protest that drew over 300 people.
The late Thursday afternoon protest was held on Hooper Avenue in front of the Ocean County Mall in Toms River and while the majority of those assembled carried signs expressing opposition to the actions and commentary of President Donald Trump and other Republican leaders, there were five Trump supporters who came out to express their view as well.
The protesters chanted, rang bells, held their signs high in the air as they peacefully lined up along the long stretch of property just beyond the parking lot area of the mall for around 90 minutes to get their messages out.
The signs expressed a lot of criticism toward the president, Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cuts. Many specifically noted a concern for actual or potential cuts in veterans’ benefits, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
Other issues of concern addressed Trump policies that rolled back environmental preservation regulations, decisions that have threatened members of the LGBTQ+ community, the economic impact of the president’s tariffs and immigration/deportation policies.
The American flag was held up high but some were hoisted upside down to signify that the nation was in need of help. Several “Hands Off FEMA” signs were also noted and many expressed the desire to see Trump not only stopped but out of office.
The crowd was multi-generational, including a few children, teens, young adults, middle aged people and seniors. A paraplegic man was also present holding a sign and expressing his displeasure of the Trump administration.
A rally of more than 300 people expressed concern over President Donald Trump’s policies in front of the Ocean County Mall on Hooper Avenue in Toms River. (Photo by Bob Vosseller)
Some wore ACLU shirts (American Civil Liberty Union). One man dressed as a chicken to symbolize Republicans who needed to step up in opposition to Trump while one protestor sported a Bernie Sanders cardboard mask.
Car horns were heard in support of the protestors but a few cars yelled out epitaphs of support for Trump as township police monitored the situation to make sure protesters weren’t in the mall’s entrance or exit lanes.
“I wanted to tell my grandchildren: I did not stay silent” one sign proclaimed. The most popular chant seemed to be “This Is What Democracy Looks Like.”
Few attendees wanted to share their full names saying they feared retaliation but Jersey Shore Online/Micromedia Publications spoke to several random individuals along the protest line.
One individual who asked to be identified by her first name, Maureen of Toms River came out because “lately it has been a lack of procedure of people just being kidnapped from their homes. Guilty or not guilty, there is due process and that isn’t what America stands for.” Her sign stated “America is Corrupt, Fire Musk.” She noted Trump’s 101st day in office saying that within that time “it is sad he can decimate our entire democracy in that amount of time.”
Judy Schmidt came out from Howell Township to attend the rally. She said her husband is a Vietnam veteran “and I’m here for the protection of veteran benefits, Social Security and all the programs that are being taken away from our children (Head Start was recently cut) and I feel the Republicans should stand up and grow a set.”
Schmidt said she also attended protests at area Tesla dealerships and protests in Red Bank, Toms River and Middletown. “This one is a pretty big one. They have to stand up!”
“Medicare and Medicaid is a major issue. I’m a cancer survivor. I am dependent on Medicaid and if that gets taken away, I literally might not survive. My mother is very elderly and she is dependent on Social Security and Medicare. America should not be a place where you have to worry day to day if you will be able to go to a doctor,” Bonnie of Wall Township said.
She noted the medical research cuts that have been made. “The whole thing they have been doing with autistic people (noting Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s role in the Trump administration and controversial remarks he made toward autistic people) is unconscionable.”
She added, “they are people too and his remarks that they will never get married or drive a car etc. etc. Little does he know that that the technology in which he spews his bile was largely developed by neuro divergent people so he can keep his mouth shut.”
“I think people are getting more and more concerned about how democracy is being threatened and where are the checks and balances, where is congress, where is the Justice Department, are they being intimidated along with people trying to help the immigrants. Things keep escalating. We didn’t elect him to acquire Greenland or to acquire Canada,” Steve from Lakewood remarked.
He added, “these are distractions to what is actually going on to things that are unchecked. It seems to be about people showing him loyalty and if you don’t you lose your job.”
Steve also noted that by cutting USAID “those illness can be brought here and then we have someone in charge of the health department (RFK) who is against vaccinations and is not into preparedness and is cutting funding for the research that would help fight future maladies.”
John of the Forked River section of Lacey Township was one of the protestors carrying the American flag upside down. Of his many issues of concern he said, “off the top of my head is how we treat human beings. How about the fact that you work your whole life and they try to take your Social Security and Medicare away?”
“I paid into that for 60 years. It affects everybody. A buddy of mine is in a veterans home. It is going to affect him in north Jersey. What is going to happen to him?” he asked.
One protestor at the rally sported a Bernie Sanders mask. (Photo by Bob Vosseller)
His wife Tula said she was also concerned about Social Security, Medicare, the VA, Medicaid and “we’re concerned about everything. What they are trying to pass is very concerning. Losing our democracy is our number one concern.”
Women’s rights are one of the reasons Sharon Fox of Toms River came out to the rally. She noted changes requiring married women to provide their maiden names to prove they are registered voters as being unfair toward women.
“This is crazy. I mean they are just taking more and more rights away from us and it is very discouraging spending my life now fighting for what we fought for before,” she said.
“There was a time women weren’t allowed to have credit and we could only get it in our husband’s name back in the day and we couldn’t get credit cards unless our husbands signed for it,” she added.
She noted, “there were so many opportunities we didn’t have that is now the norm. My generation had to fight for those rights that they take for granted. My daughter is very much against what is happening right now. I go to women’s rights rallies and I’ve been doing this since high school. I was the first sports editor of my high school newspaper in 1972.”
Trump Supporters
Bob Hess of the Bamber Lake section of Lacey was sporting a red Trump 2024 campaign cap as he joined four other supporters of the president on the other end of the property. They came out to provide a different viewpoint.
“I thought there would be more people in support so I stopped by. They have their concerns (the other protestors) and they are probably good people but they are not thinking correctly. We can’t have an open border. My products are made in Mexico. They are good people but what needs to be done and it needed to be done five years ago when they opened the borders… somebody should have said ‘what are you doing?’” Hess added.
Hess said, “how can you think that by opening the border and let drug dealers and rapists in. Venezuela’s economy now compared to what it was five years ago. It is completely different because all the bad guys are up here.”
When asked about the stock market and tariff impact on the American economy,” Seaside Heights resident Randy Ryan said “Those so concerned about stocks have no money in the stock market. Sometimes you have to move back to take two steps forward. We have a lot to fix.”
Three Toms River teenagers, Todd, Daniella and Mackala, joined them with their “I Love Trump” signs. Todd said, “I voted for the first time and I knew it was Trump definitely. His policies were better. Secure the borders. We had all the illegals coming in, criminals, no track records on them.”
“America first and we don’t want any men in women’s bathrooms. We’re from Toms River and we’re in college now,” Mackala remarked.
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