Towards the end of former Sen. Doug Jones’ speech to hundreds of protesters in a Tuscaloosa park, a motorcyclist circled the area and revved the engine loudly for several moments.
Jones, talking to a crowd gathered to oppose President Donald Trump’s visit to the University of Alabama, turned briefly and quipped, “Whatever he’s riding now, it’s going to go up in price.”
Jones was one of many speakers at Snow Hinton Park at the invite of the UA College Democrats. Two other protests, hosted by pro-Palestinian and pro-worker’s groups, occurred nearby Thursday.
“This is not a protest. This is a movement,” Jones said. “It is movements that changed this country. Whether it was a Civil Rights movement, whether it was an anti-war movement,” Jones said. “It’s a movement. And guess what? It started on college campuses.”
Jones told AL.com, “I’m gonna stay in the fight. There’s too much going on. There’s too much trouble in America. There’s too much trouble in Alabama. I’m gonna stay in the fight, one way or another.” He would not say whether he’s considering running for office again.
“Trump ought not to come speak on our campus,” Christian Martin, with the College Democrats, told AL.com before the event.
People supporting and opposing the president flocked to the college town Thursday night, joining floods of others arriving for commencement ceremonies.
Trump is the first president to give a speech during the University of Alabama’s graduation weekend. The university plans to issue about 6,000 degrees to students over the weekend.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who took Jones’ seat in 2021 and is considering a run for governor, later got a shoutout from Trump in Coleman Coliseum.
Cassandra Simon, a social work professor who is suing the university and Gov. Kay Ivey over state law banning some DEI programs, encouraged protesters to stand up for civil rights. In his second term, Trump has issued executive orders banning diversity, equity and inclusion from federal programs.
“I am afraid,” she said. “It’s okay to be afraid. Don’t let that fear immobilize you.”
Kyle Sweetser, a former Republican who now is running for Tuberville’s seat, said Trump used to be pro-choice and supported the LGBTQ community.
“He could have worked with both parties to get things done,” Sweetser said. “He could have fought to bust up monopolies, protect our national parks and improve the lives of everyday Americans,” he said.
“But he didn’t do any of that. Instead, Trump cozied up to a select few billionaires, abused his power and betraying the trust of his most loyal followers, the people of Alabama, the people of the South,” Sweetser said. ”His authoritarian regime is anti-Constitution. They think that they are above the law. They harass and threaten the press.”
Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke spoke to the crowd before Jones, opening with, “So this is what Alabama looks like. F—– beautiful.”
O’Rourke credited university students for “taking action themselves” instead of “anticipating orders from Washington, D.C.”
“Alabama has long inspired Texas, long inspired the country,” O’Rourke said. “We have a profoundly powerful relationship. Too many people in this country understand the threat that Donald Trump poses to us individually, to our families, to our community or Constitution, to our country.”
Addressing students, O’Rourke said graduation weekend should “all about you and the hard work and the effort and the success that you have earned.”
“This jackass is trying to make it all about him,” O’Rourke said while the crowd laughed and cheered.
Freddie and Rainer Clements drove two hours from Jacksonville to attend the protest.
“People in Washington have to understand we do know what’s going on, and this is how we feel,” Freddie Clements said. “One person on the internet is not much of an impact.”
Before the protest, Birmingham resident Beth Mulvey said the country is “such a mess.”
“It’s not surprising,” Mulvey said. She said Trump “was going to do all this stuff when he was running, and people voted him in. So here we are in the mess that was promised. We really need all the branches of government to stand up and do what they’re supposed to do.”
“We just wanted them to know that there are students at UA who do not want Trump’s presence here,” Omorose Emwanta, with UA Leftists & UA Students for Justice for Palestine, told AL.com. “Trump’s presidency represents so many negative things. Trump’s presidency has caused a great deal of stress and suffering in our lives.”
