Four-year Trump protest? Hollywood actor hopes so

NEW YORK — It is the protest that Hollywood actor Shia LaBeouf is determined will go on 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for President Donald Trump’s entire four-year term in office.

Or until he steps down, which ever comes soonest.

Come rain, shine or near freezing temperatures, members of the public have turned up to repeat “He Will Not Divide Us” into a camera mounted onto a wall outside a New York museum since Mr Trump was inaugurated last Friday (Jan 20).

Fury actor LaBeouf, dressed in an orange poncho, shimmied around, rallying the troops in the pouring rain on Tuesday outside the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, the borough where Mr Trump was born.

The protest is the brain child of LaBeouf, Finnish artist Nastja Sade Ronkko and British artist Luke Turner. Members of the public are invited to repeat the phrase as many times and for as long as they wish.

Since Friday, there has been a steady stream of mostly young people, and mostly those living in the neighbourhood, who vent their frustration with Mr Trump.

Despite lashing rain and near freezing temperatures, at one point on Tuesday around a dozen young people appeared in front of the camera, some beating drums and chanting the phrase and stamping their feet to the rhythm.

“Open to all, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the participatory performance will be live-streamed continuously for four years, or the duration of the presidency,” says the protest’s website.

“In this way, the mantra “HE WILL NOT DIVIDE US” acts as a show of resistance or insistence, opposition or optimism, guided by the spirit of each individual participant and the community.”

Jaden Smith, the actor and child of Hollywood star Will Smith, has also taken part. But on Tuesday, LaBeouf refused to elaborate, telling AFP: “I think I’ve already said everything that could be said.”

But Sarah Elhouti, 17, said it was a great idea.

“When you find other people who support the same thing and believe in the same thing, you’re not alone,” she told AFP. “We’re the upcoming generation,” Elhouti added. “It’s our opinion that matters now.” AFP