A storm of protests has erupted across the United States as organizers prepare to challenge President Donald Trump’s early actions in his second term—actions many believe are deeply intertwined with Project 2025. Under hashtags like #buildtheresistance and #50501, demonstrators plan rallies in over 50 cities, including state capitols from Michigan to Arizona, all in hopes of sounding the alarm against policies they see as an existential threat to American democracy.

In Lansing, Michigan, a group of activists huddled over poster boards in a bustling café, brainstorming slogans like “Workers Unite!” and “No Deportations Ever!” Organizer Kelsey Brianne calls it “a real grassroots effort,” motivated by a desire to ensure no one looks back on this pivotal moment wishing they had done more.

Protests against Project 2025 have grown exponentially as details emerge about the massive 900-page “wish list” devised by the Heritage Foundation. Critics call it a blueprint for expanding presidential power, dismantling entire federal agencies, and shifting America’s social fabric sharply to the right. Trump himself has been quick to distance his administration from portions of Project 2025—especially following backlash from Democrats and moderate Republicans. Yet he has, in practice, nominated several of its authors to key government positions, and some of his early executive orders echo the document’s proposals.

The Many Faces of 2025

‍At its core, Project 2025 envisions a federal government drastically reshaped under a “unitary executive theory,” granting the president near-total control over traditionally independent agencies such as the Department of Justice. It calls for gutting institutions like the FBI—labeled “bloated” by the plan’s drafters—and discarding legal protections for countless career civil servants in favor of political appointees.

Beyond bureaucratic overhauls, the document advocates ending or severely restricting funding for climate initiatives, championing fossil fuels, and dismantling the Department of Education—objectives Trump has already begun pursuing through executive action. On immigration, the plan’s calls for rigorous border policing and restructuring of enforcement agencies intersect with Trump’s own promise to deport millions of undocumented immigrants.

Clashing Visions and Grassroots Fury

‍Within days of assuming office, the president moved to freeze federal spending, restrict diversity and inclusion efforts, and reframe policies around abortion and gender—steps largely in sync with certain Project 2025 doctrines. These moves have left Democrats and civic groups scrambling to counter them in court and on the streets.

Sunday’s mass demonstrations in Los Angeles—where anti-deportation protests briefly shut down a major freeway—show the scope of people’s discontent. Protestors brandished signs decrying a “slide into authoritarianism,” while chanting “Reject Fascism” outside government buildings.

Similar scenes are unfolding nationwide under the rallying cries of #buildtheresistance. Members of minority communities, labor unions, and faith-based organizations are coalescing around a shared message: that Project 2025 represents a veiled threat to civil liberties and democratic values.

Finding Waldo in the Turmoil

‍So what, or who, is “Waldo” amid all this turbulence? He’s the elusive puzzle piece, the hidden focal point behind the swirling confusion of claims and counterclaims about Project 2025. Some protesters see Waldo as the gap between Trump’s public disavowals of this right-wing blueprint and the actual appointments and executive orders that align suspiciously well with its pages. Others view Waldo as the push-and-pull between a powerful federal government and the states, or between political insiders and the grassroots yearning for genuine democracy.

In truth, Waldo could be all of these and more—a reflection of this nation’s deep divide over how to govern, who gets to speak, and what the future of American society should look like. Like the beloved illustrated figure hidden in a crowded scene, the underlying cause driving these protests and proposed policies might feel obvious or invisible, depending on one’s vantage point.

As the rallies press forward and organizers like Kelsey Brianne mobilize supporters, the real question remains whether America can navigate these starkly different visions for its future. Will these protests, guided by social media-savvy groups and energized by a collective sense of urgency, succeed in drawing out—and confronting—the Waldo at the heart of Project 2025?

For now, demonstrators plan to keep searching, calling out every corner of this sweeping policy landscape in hopes of protecting what they believe is the essence of American democracy. Whether they find Waldo or not, the quest itself could shape the U.S. course for years to come.

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