CHICAGO — Protests outside the Democratic National Convention, now in its second day, have already outnumbered the demonstrations in Milwaukee a month ago, when former President Donald Trump accepted his party’s presidential nomination at the Republican National Convention. The biggest reason demonstrators have shown up: the war in Gaza.
While the Democratic Party formally embraces a two-state solution, progressive elements within the party have long expressed frustration with President Joe Biden on the issue, according to the party platform released this week. They argue that Biden has not sufficiently pressured Israel to stop its attacks on Gaza in the 10 months since the Oct. 7 attack.
Trump, meanwhile, has been a vocal critic of Hamas. He said last week that if elected, he would “deport pro-Hamas radicals” and encouraged Israel to “solve the problem” by eliminating Hamas.
Vice President Kamala Harris has expressed support for a ceasefire, while Trump has not.
Yet Republicans did not face the same anger at their convention. The reason the protesters in Chicago said they came here was to hold the party in power accountable.
Protesters said they were more excited to turn out for the Democratic convention, which began Monday, for a variety of reasons. The most prominent is that progressive protesters believe they have a more viable path to convincing a Harris-led slate to make meaningful policy changes on the war in Gaza. But many also said they are angry at Democrats because they believe they, as incumbents, bear more responsibility for the war than Republicans do at this point.
“I want to push the Democratic Party on a lot of issues,” said Jacob Smith, 32, a software engineer who traveled from Detroit and attended the protest Monday afternoon, which drew thousands of people. He cited “stopping the genocide in Gaza” and achieving a “permanent ceasefire” as key.
He said he believed both sides were “equally beholden to special and corporate interests.”
“They’re both basically right-wing parties right now,” he said, adding: “But in general, Democrats are a little bit better than Republicans.”
Smith said he hasn’t decided who he wants to vote for and wouldn’t say who he plans to vote for other than to say it “won’t be Trump.”
Smith said he felt it was more important to protest the Biden-Harris administration because “this is the administration that has supported and encouraged an ongoing, visible genocide.”
“The country is currently run by Democrats. This is happening on their watch,” he said.
Smith said he hoped Democratic Party leaders would be more likely to listen to such protests, “because progressive voters are part of their base. Maybe they’ll be more likely to listen to us” than Republicans.
Smith did not attend the much smaller protests at the RNC.
“Clearly, protesting Republican policies is a good thing,” he said, “but to what extent is it realistic to expect that there will be policy change in that way?”
“It’s about effectiveness in many ways,” Smith added. “Where are your actions most effective?”
Lauren Pineiro, 24, a restaurant worker from Florida, also participated in smaller protests at the Republican Party convention.
“I was happy to protest Trump and the racist reactionary agenda of that party. But I think the reason it was smaller is simply because the Democrats are in power now, and they are the ones overseeing this genocide,” she said. “I think that’s why people feel more empowered to come here, even though a lot of people do care about fighting back against Trump’s agenda.”
Fred Schein, 76, a lifelong Chicago resident, said: “Trump is a fascist and I would never vote for him, but the Democrats are the ones in power during this war.”
He said that while this year’s protests are centered around the war in Gaza, they “also encompass so many other issues,” he said, citing reproductive rights, climate change and immigrant rights as a few examples.
Annie Weiler, 28, a marketing manager from Knoxville, Tennessee, said she hoped the protest would help Harris’ campaign change not only its tone but also its policy regarding the war in Gaza.
“Right now, Kamala Harris still has the opportunity to help stop the funding of this war,” she said.
“I’m a Democrat, but it’s hard to support Kamala Harris when she openly supports Israel in this conflict,” Weiler added.
Sean Parmelee, 36, marched Monday with a sign that read: “We’re trying to help you, Kamala.”
He means it sincerely.
“I’m voting for her — but a lot of people here aren’t,” said Parmelee, a Chicago resident. “She’s making it really hard for them, honestly.”
“Look at all that energy. She can have anything if she wants,” he said.
Parmelee said he is protesting because pushing for a ceasefire and an arms embargo on Israel “is the right thing to do.”
“And it’s the right strategy for Kamala Harris,” he said.
As Parmelee spoke, a protest organizer with a megaphone led the crowd in a loud chant: “Harris, Harris, what do you say, how many children have you killed today?”
Sydney Loving, 29, a teacher from Dallas, said she protested at the Democratic convention instead of the Republican one last month because she sees the Biden administration as “the architects of the genocide in Gaza.”
“It’s just a simple fact: They’re the ones in power, writing the checks, sending the missiles and all that stuff,” Loving said.
Mariana Espana, 17, a Chicago student who will be old enough to vote on Election Day, said she was there specifically to help Harris “take action for a ceasefire for Palestine” because “it is such a tragedy to see these children dying.”
“I personally support Kamala. A Trump presidency would be a disaster. But I think it’s important to urge Kamala to push for a ceasefire,” she said.
“I think it would help her campaign because it would help unite this wing of the party,” she said.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
