May Day demonstrations in Atlanta and around the globe protest Trump agenda

The crowd cheers for Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., as he arrives to speak during a May Day rally outside City Hall in Philadelphia, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S. and around the world rallied Thursday in May Day protests that united many in anger over President Donald Trump’s agenda from aggressive tariffs that are stoking fears of global economic turmoil to his administration’s immigration crackdowns.

In the United States, organizers framed this year’s International Workers’ Day protests as a pushback against what they see as the administration’s sweeping assault on labor protections, diversity initiatives and federal employees. Protesters lined streets in many cities from New York to Philadelphia to Los Angeles and held a boisterous rally outside the White House in Washington.

Huge turnout as US May Day protests focus on Trump

In Atlanta, hundreds gathered at a downtown park across from the state Capitol. The crowd included some retired U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention workers. The CDC is headquartered in Atlanta and is expected to lose around 2,400 employees due to cuts by the Trump administration.