海角大神

President鈥檚 Day was originally established on George Washington鈥檚 birthday to honor the first president.

But thousands refused to bestow the same honor on President Trump on Monday, as activists in at least two dozen major cities participated in 鈥淣ot My Presidents Day鈥� rallies in opposition to the 45th president.

The protesters took to the streets concerned about a broad range of issues, from the president鈥檚 immigration policies, to his treatment of the press, to his rhetoric some said reminded them of authoritarian regimes or fascism. While the demonstrators differed on the meat and potatoes of their opposition, many of them said they feel he doesn鈥檛 represent their interests.

鈥淒onald Trump we have worked hard to enact,鈥� reads the Facebook page organizers for the New York City event created. The rally, they said, was to 鈥渉onor previous presidents by exercising our constitutional right to assemble and peacefully protest everything Donald Trump stands for,鈥� as well as remind elected representatives home during the congressional recess 鈥渨ho they represent.鈥�

The rallies in cities that included New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles come as the nation is more polarized over Mr. Trump than any other president in the last 30 years.

鈥淒emocrats and Democratic-leaning independents loathe his performance, per approval polls. But Republicans and Republican leaners remain as happy with Mr. Trump as ever. They鈥檙e not swayed by what critics see as chaos in the executive branch,鈥� wrote Peter Grier for 海角大神 on Monday. 鈥淭his is a reminder that most of the people who put Trump in office are content to wait and see how his policies develop. He promised to fix border security, beat ISIS, stamp out crime, drain the D.C. swamp, and give people great health care. Trump supporters want to see if those things happen 鈥� or not.鈥�

Some of the largest turnouts for Monday鈥檚 rallies were in Los Angeles (1,000) and New York (), according to organizers and the New York City Mayor's Office, as AM New York reported.

In Los Angeles, city resident Susan Walker said she hoped the protests had the same effect as those she participated in the 1960s.

鈥淲e got Congress to hear us,鈥� she told USA Today. 鈥淲e were important to getting the war to end.鈥� Showing up to the rally, she said, 鈥渋s better than sitting home and being mad all the time."

In New York, Maria Amoldinado, of Yonkers said she attended the rally because of President Trump鈥檚 immigration policies and the specter of authoritarianism, which she related to her family鈥檚 emigration from the Dominican Republic.

鈥淢y great-grandparents and grandparents came here to escape poverty and to get away from the dictatorship of President (Rafael) Trujillo. I don鈥檛 want my family to live under another totalitarian regime,鈥� she told USA Today.

In the nation鈥檚 capital, marchers expressed their opposition to a range of issues by , according to The Washington Post.

Their messages 鈥渞anged from concerns about attacks on scientific research and illegal immigration to the more generic 'Love Trumps Hate.'鈥� People chanted 鈥淲ater is life鈥� 鈥� the slogan for environmental protests at Standing Rock, N.D. 鈥� and 鈥楤lack lives matter,鈥� 鈥� wrote the Post鈥檚 Susan Svrluga.

But in some places the protesters were met with some Trump supporters. In front of the White House, a man with a megaphone told the marchers to go home and 鈥淟eave Trump alone!鈥� In New York, a man wearing a red 鈥淢ake America Great Again鈥� hat engaged in a mix of heated and light-hearted exchanges with protesters, according to USA Today.

The protests didn鈥檛 remain entirely peaceful either. The Oregonian reported that in Portland, , although it was unclear how many were detained and what charges they faced.

The rallies happened to coincide with findings that the president鈥檚 approval rating is widely split between Democrats and Republicans. Only 8 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents said they approve of Trump鈥檚 current job performance, the single lowest figure in over 30 years, the Pew Research Center found. But 84 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents said they approve of Trump.聽

Editor's note: This article has been updated to include the number of demonstrators聽the New York City Mayor's Office and organizers estimate attended the Manhattan rally.聽