Rain washes out Trump protest but not protesters

Despite relentless rain and gusty winds, scores of hardy Bay Area protesters showed up in San Francisco on Presidents Day to voice their opposition to the nation’s commander in chief.

A noon event in Justin Herman Plaza, organized by San Franciscans United Against Trump, was called off an hour before its start because organizers were concerned the weather could wreak havoc with an overhead awning and a rain tarp.

Others made their way to the Phillip Burton Federal Building on Golden Gate Avenue, where about 50 people gathered for a soggy rally.

The San Francisco protesters were among thousands who attended Not My Presidents Day rallies around the nation, including thousands in New York and several hundred in Chicago and Washington, D.C. The crowds were much smaller than the Women’s March events the day after President Trump’s inauguration, but the message of resistance and persistence was the same.

At Justin Herman Plaza, protesters waved signs reading “Deport Trump,” “Impeach the traitor” and “If facts are your enemy, you are mine.”

San Francisco retiree Tes Welborn said she attended the Women’s March and has continued to show up at protests because I’m concerned about the constitutional crisis that’s going on.

“We have to do everything we can to throw sand under the wheels of those taking illegal actions and violating the Constitution,” she said.