ANNAPOLIS – Hundreds of people rallied here this week against President Donald Trump and his administration’s recent actions toward Ukraine, warning of a dangerous shift away from democratic values.
“We don’t have a king. We’re losing our rights,” rally attendee and Annapolis resident Theresa Duffy told Capital News Service. “I’m really concerned about the world we’re leaving for our children, and I feel like I had it better, so I need to fight for my kids.”
Many in Annapolis Tuesday afternoon, including Duffy, fear the administration’s abrupt policy shifts signal a deeper alignment with Russia and a retreat from democratic principles.
“I’m really, really concerned about our foreign relations and the damage he’s caused,” Duffy, who is also a longtime human rights activist, said, regarding the way Trump is handling Ukraine. “I don’t think they’ll ever get it back.”
Tuesday’s rally, organized by nationwide activist group 50501 and Maryland grassroots group Free State Coalition, came amid rising tensions in Washington. Just one day after the administration temporarily suspended all U.S. military aid to Ukraine, hundreds stood in Annapolis flying the Ukrainian flag and raising blue and yellow signs reading “support Ukraine” and “save democracy.”
Since taking office, Trump has signed 76 executive orders that critics argue slash necessary federal jobs and fundamental rights. Concerns escalated after last week’s tense White House meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, where Trump directed sharp criticism towards Zelensky.
While Trump called for peace in the region in a speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night, his actions, including suspending military funding to the country, have raised alarms about his increasing hostility toward the country.
“We’ve had serious discussions with Russia and have received strong signals that they are ready for peace,” Trump said in his address. “Wouldn’t that be beautiful?”
Critics, like Senate President Bill Ferguson, a Democrat representing Baltimore County, argue that Trump’s stance threatens global stability.
“Three years ago, I stood outside the State House with our Republican governor at the time in solidarity with a country that had been invaded by an autocratic dictator—one who decimated communities and killed thousands of innocent people,” Ferguson said at a Tuesday press conference.
He emphasized the need to remember the origins of the conflict.
“It was Russia that started this,” Ferguson said. “We must not lose sight of that.”
Patricia McNally, a resident of Arnold, Maryland came to the rally with other Arnold residents. She emphasized that strong international alliances have always been a cornerstone of America’s success.
“America has always been great, and what makes it great? Our alliances, creating peace in the world through strength and alliances with Europe, NATO, our education system, which they want to dismantle,” McNally told CNS. “What makes America great is not white people and rich white men deciding what everybody else can do. That’s never been what America is about.”
For Barry Kessler, McNally’s friend also from Arnold, Maryland, the issue is personal. He attended Tuesday’s rally not only to show support but also because of his strong connections to Ukraine. He speaks weekly with a Ukrainian English language exchange partner, and both of his grandparents were born there.
“They left Ukraine, but to me, it is a bulwark to protect Europe,” McNally said. “If the Ukrainians have been fighting for us, we don’t need to get anything from them.”
Other lawmakers also took issue with the administration’s recent actions.
Sen. Jim Rosapepe, a Democrat representing Prince George’s and Anne Arundel Counties, spoke at the rally. He expressed dismay at Trump’s handling of the Oval Office meeting.
“The vice president called it the meeting with two democracies, the United States and Ukraine, but only one president who is fighting for democracy, that was Zelensky,” he said.
But Republican Sen. Johnny Salling, representing Baltimore County, had a different take on the conflict.
“You got to reason with each other and that didn’t happen,” Salling told CNS, referring to the Oval Office meeting. “You’re in this country in the United States, and you’ve got to respect that. You can’t over-talk the president. You can’t over-talk the vice president.”
But Salling continued, saying he thought “both parties” could have done a better job.
“I think in time, we’ll have peace in Ukraine,” Salling said. “I think our country would do well.”
