On Saturday, almost 1,000 people gathered on Main Beach in Santa Cruz, California, for a Pride Month protest aimed directly at President Donald Trump.
During a demonstration organized by Indivisible Santa Cruz County, participants formed a gigantic human banner spelling out “Resist!” in rainbow hues.
Brad Newsham, a lifelong left-wing activist, constructed the 220-foot-wide exhibit with letters up to 70 feet high.
“It’s very important, the more people [who] can show our neighbors, our politicians in the world, that nonviolent resistance is the way to express our dissatisfaction with the way our country’s going,” event organizer Becca Moeller told Lookout Santa Cruz.
However, just above the vibrant banner was a very different kind of message: “86 47,” which many read as a request to “get rid of” the 47th President of the United States.
In slang, “86” usually refers to cancel, delete, or even annihilate. The slogan, when combined with “47,” the number now linked with President Trump’s second term, has alarmed critics who feel it went too far.
Earlier last month, ousted FBI Director James Comey left a similar message in the sand, except instead of kelp, there were shells. He withdrew the message following substantial criticism and law enforcement action.
Organizers described the gathering as a peaceful act of resistance and a display of support for the LGBTQ+ community.
“We do not need a monarch. We want to go back to how things were. “We want to make America kind again,” demonstrator Beth Basilius told Lookout Santa Cruz.
While the event emphasized “kindness” and inclusivity, the images conveyed a more conflicting message.
“They say they want to make America ‘kind’ again, but then they write ’86 47′ in the sand. That is not kindness; it is a disguised demand to destroy someone with whom they disagree. “It’s hypocritical,” Mike LeLieur, chair of the Santa Cruz County Republican Party, told Fox News Digital.
According to LeLieur, the political left is becoming increasingly hostile to local conservatives.
“Our vehicles have been vandalized, tires slashed, and windows shattered. I was forced off the road and attacked simply for having a Trump sticker. At our State of the Union watch party, we were surrounded by irate protesters. It’s been relentless hostility—and these are the same individuals who call themselves the ‘Party of Peace.'”
According to the California Secretary of State’s most recent data, only 8.5% of Santa Cruz voters are registered Republicans.
Supporters of the demonstration argued that “86 47” was a symbolic rejection of Trump’s program rather than a genuine threat. However, detractors claim that reasoning falls flat in a political atmosphere where coded language has real-world repercussions.
“In California—and especially in Santa Cruz County—the left is creating a political environment of non-acceptance and persecution,” stated Daniel Enriquez, a California Republican Assembly member. “It’s consistent with the goals of socialist movements throughout history.”
Jenny Evans, a co-leader of Indivisible Santa Cruz County, defended the event.
“When a large crowd comes out to do something like this, it simply goes to show that we aren’t all thinking, ‘Fine, fine. “We’ll go along with whatever you want,” she told Lookout Santa Cruz.
The event was part of Santa Cruz’s 50th Pride celebration. Beginning at 7 a.m., participants were told to dress in matching rainbow hues that corresponded to fabric spread out on the beach.
The protest was calm, but opponents argue that calling for kindness while displaying “86 47” communicated the wrong message.