About 200 protesters join 'Let Them Eat Cake' demonstration in downtown Fargo

Yahoo

27-04-2025

Apr. 26—FARGO — Local organizers staged a political farce in protest of federal budget cuts at the hands of the Trump administration.
On Saturday afternoon, April 26, about 200 people gathered on a street corner across from the Federal Building in downtown Fargo to speak out against recent and proposed cuts to federal spending. Many carried signs while they watched members of local political groups perform a short satirical play criticizing President Donald Trump, Elon Musk and U.S. Rep. Julie Fedorchak, R-North Dakota.
The event was organized by Fearless, the Fargo chapter of Indivisible, and Red River United, the Moorhead chapter of Indivisible. Indivisible is a national organization made up of groups across the country that organize against the actions and policies of the Trump administration.
Richard Loftus of Oxbow, North Dakota, wrote the script. He played a Marie Antoinette-like Fedorchak.
"It's a parable, and it's a little story, and we're doing a little bit of a reversal of the French Revolution, because it's the programs that are going to the guillotine," Loftus said.
Organizers dubbed the event as the "Let Them Eat Cake" protest, a phrase often attributed to Marie Antoinette. "Let them eat cake" was supposedly the French queen's response after being told that her starving subjects had no bread.
The protest was held as the Trump administration cuts federal programs and employees. Many of the cuts have been led by the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, led by billionaire and Trump adviser Elon Musk. Fedorchak
has been supportive
of the Trump administration's efforts to cut federal spending.
The performance featured a familiar cast of characters lined up next to a wooden guillotine. It included Trump and Musk with a tiny chainsaw in hand, a reference to Musk's chainsaw-weilding appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference earlier this year.
One by one, Trump, played by Fargo's David Kelsen, called up characters representing Social Security, rule of law, disability rights, clean drinking water, reproductive rights, LGBT rights, diversity, voting rights, education and science. Each was forced to hand over their money as the guillotine behind them dropped.
"You're chopped," Kelsen said to each as the crowd booed.
Last in line was Liberty, played by Bethany Dixon of Fargo dressed as the Statue of Liberty. She stood up to Trump's cuts, using a Wonder Woman-like lasso of truth to get him and Fedorchak to talk about the impact of spending cuts on Americans.
"Real Americans care about their neighbors, their country," Dixon (as Liberty) said. "They care about me, Liberty."
After the performance, Dixon talked about putting on the performance with the Indivisible groups.
"We do a lot of things together, and we've been doing a lot of protective actions or protests, and thought, 'You know, we need a little bit of levity and maybe a different way to do things to reach maybe a broader audience,'" Dixon said.
Some attendees said Saturday's protest was not the only one they have been to recently. Michelle Foss of Fargo said she has been attending protests as often as she can. She expressed concerns with the Trump administration cutting programs, positions and departments.
"I think that that's my biggest concern with everything, is that all of this stuff's done without any thought, or at least without any appearance of there being any thought put into it, makes me have no confidence in any of it," Foss said.
Kara Riley of Moorhead said she started coming to protests so her voice is heard on issues she is concerned about.
"I'm really concerned about the infrastructure of the departments and the people being cut — they're not freeloaders, they're people we actually need," Riley said.
Saturday's protest is the most recent in a wave of protests across Fargo-Moorhead against actions taken by the Trump administration. Last weekend
protesters gathered
near the West Acres Mall. On April 5,
thousands converged on the Veterans Memorial Bridge
to protest Trump and Musk.
Indivisible is holding another protest from 5-7 p.m. on Thursday, May 1. That protest is on International Workers Day and will have a theme of "For the Workers, For the Law." The group is partnering for the event with the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, local unions and the League of Women Voters.
On Thursday, the groups will gather at 5 p.m. on the Veterans Memorial Bridge. Around 6 p.m., the group will move to Moorhead's Woodlawn Park, where organizers, union leaders, community members and retired Fargo Municipal Court Judge Thomas Davies will give remarks.