Democracy Inaction: Well-Paying Opponents Set Traps to Trip-Up Trump

Republican Donald Trump's win in the US presidential elections was followed by a wave of protests, which led to clashes with police; earlier, massive efforts were made to stop Trump from prevailing in the polls.

Long before the first debate between Trump and his rival, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, petitions emerged on the Internet demanding that Trump should be withdrawn from the race.

One of the most active social platforms to promote this idea was the civic organization Avaaz, which in March 2016 organized protest rallies against the current President-elect.

The 'We are United to Stop Trump' rallies were held near one of his skyscrapers in Vancouver, Canada and in Parliament Square in London. About 150,000 people reportedly took part in the protests at the time.

Riot police block off the Albuquerque Convention Center to anti-Trump protests following a rally and speech by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at the convention center where the event was held, in Albuquerque, N.M., Tuesday, May 24, 2016

© AP Photo / Brennan Linsley

After the two fall presidential debates, Avaaz knew full well that containing Trump's drive would be a tricky task, which is why the NGO decided to urge Americans from all across the world to try to influence the outcome of the upcoming elections.

"Eight million voters will be able to stop Trump if they vote against him," Avaaz activists said at the time.

Now they understandably fear that their organization will be closed after Trump enters office. They are currently seeking to move all Avaaz databases and bank accounts to another country, given that the organization has branches in Brazil, Britain, France, Germany and Italy.

Shortly after the announcement of the election results, large-scale anti-Trump protests took place near his headquarters in New York, where more than 10,000 demonstrators chanted slogans such as "this is how democracy looks," "not my president" and "shame". The protesters also accused Trump of failing to pay taxes.

Anti-Trump protests rallies in Portland, Oregon and Indianapolis, Indiana escalated into clashes with police, something that came as mass demonstrations were held in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Miami, Chicago and other US cities.

During the protests at the time, an unidentified non-governmental organization posted an ad on the website Craigslist to look for volunteers willing to take part in anti-Trump demonstrations in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Los Angeles, California.

"Stop Trump. We pay up to $ 1,500. Immediate hiring! Call today – protest tomorrow," RT quoted the ads as saying.

Day and evening shifts as well as full time and part time work were available to potential protesters who will be driven to protest sites, according to the ads.

"The job does not require any work experience. There are vacancies for a weekend. No taxes and fees," the ads read.

Experts said that that the goal of all these protests and petitions was to try to influence the forthcoming electoral vote, which took place on 19 December.

However, despite the machinations of the President-elect's enemies and their attempts to force the voters to change their minds, Donald Trump confirmed his election to the United States' highest public office.

However, some Americans and migrants from different countries are preparing new protests against the new president, which are slated to take place after his inauguration on January 21, media reports said.

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