In a sea of fury in Washington DC and New York City, one yellow Pokémon stole the spotlight.
Over the weekend, tens of thousands of protesters flooded the streets of Washington, DC, NYC and cities across the United States to rally against President Donald Trump’s sweeping federal cutbacks, with cries of “Hands Off!” echoing from coast to coast.
'Hands Off!' protests against Trump in Thayer Street near Brown University. X/@BruceBa21417771
But amid the banners and chants, it was an unlikely figure — Pikachu — who lit up the demonstrations.
Dressed in the iconic yellow costume familiar to every 90s kid, the protester-turned-Pokémon waved a signboard that read “End Oppression” and grooved with demonstrators across multiple rally points.
From Times Square to the National Mall, #ProtestPikachu became more than just a meme.
What began as comic relief in Turkey last month has now transformed into a powerful transnational symbol of protest.
#Flashback
On March 27, during demonstrations in Antalya, Turkey, following the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu — the main political opponent to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan — police attempted to disperse crowds with water cannons. That’s when a protester dressed as Pikachu outran riot cops, zigzagging through pepper spray and chaos in the early hours of the morning.
The moment, caught on video, quickly went viral and drew even the attention of Turkey’s main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), of which İmamoğlu is a member.
#Comeback
Barely days later, that same yellow bipedal rodent rebel made an electrifying comeback in the USA.
Over the weekend, thousands took to the streets in what have become the largest demonstrations since Trump returned to the White House in January.
Chants of “Free Palestine”, “End the genocide”, and “Save Social Security” thundered through the crowds and then the arrival of Pikachu brought a kind of collective catharsis.
Children high-fived the yellow mascot; older millennials wiped away tears — some from laughter, others from rage.
Why they rallied with Pikachu
Protesters rallied against what they described as a ruthless dismantling of the state — massive layoffs of federal workers, the shuttering of Social Security offices, deep cuts to healthcare programs, increased deportations, and the rollback of civil rights protections for LGBTQ+ Americans.
The new epicenter of their ire? Not just Trump, but his billionaire aide and head of the Department of Government Efficiency — Elon Musk.
Musk, who continues to lead Tesla, SpaceX, and the platform X, has defended the sweeping cuts as a necessary “leaning” of government to save taxpayer money. Critics argue the opposite: that America is being stripped “down to its bones.”
At the Washington rally, Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, did not mince words.
“The attacks that we’re seeing, they’re not just political. They are personal, y’all,” Robinson told the crowd, according to the Associated Press. “They’re trying to ban our books, they’re slashing HIV prevention funding, they’re criminalising our doctors, our teachers, our families and our lives.”
She ended with a rallying cry:
“We don’t want this America, y’all. We want the America we deserve, where dignity, safety and freedom belong not to some of us, but to all of us.”
In Boston, Mayor Michelle Wu addressed a crowd of thousands, pledging not to “raise [her] children in a country where intimidation replaces leadership and diversity is cast as a threat.”
The protests stretched far and wide — from Houston to Colorado to Los Ang
Poster at a "Hands off" rally. X/@ArtCandee
Even foreign policy found its way into the protest placards. Trump’s policies on Gaza drew sharp criticism, with protesters demanding an end to US support for military actions in the region.
The slogans were: “Stop Arming Genocide”, “End the Siege of Gaza”, “Hands Off Palestine.”
X/@mattmfm
Meanwhile, the White House...
“President Trump’s position is clear: he will always protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid for eligible beneficiaries,” it said in a statement, as reported by the AP.
“Meanwhile, the Democrats' stance is giving Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare benefits to illegal aliens, which will bankrupt these programs and crush American seniors.”
But a Pokémon?
What makes this moment unique is not just the scale of opposition... it’s the symbols animating it. It took a 3-foot-tall Pokémon with lightning cheeks to bring something fresh to the frontlines.
Pikachu isn’t just a flash of nostalgia anymore.
