WHEELING — Hundreds turned out for a rally in Elm Grove Saturday to tell President Donald Trump to keep government’s “hands off” funding for Medicare and Social Security, and they voiced their opinions against other Trump policies.

Protestors at the “Hands Off” rally lined all four sides of the National Road intersection near McDonalds and Kruger Street.

“Hey, hey… what do you say… we want Trump to go away,” went one chant.

Another was slightly similar.

“Hey, hey… ho ho… Elon Musk (director of the Department of Government Efficiency) has got to go.”

Wheeling resident Johnny Haught led the chants with an even more simple sentence: “Trump is a crook.”

“This is the time to be out (protesting),” Haught said. “We are all in this together. If the people sitting on their couches right now don’t understand how important this time is, there is no help.”

He added what bothered him most was that as Trump’s tariffs on foreign countries led the stock market to plummet, Trump left Washington and went golfing at his course in West Palm Beach, Florida.

“Tanking the economy and then going golfing – that’s the main thing,” Haught said. “He tanked the economy and immediately went on vacation. A lot of us aren’t going to get vacations anymore.”

Tom Flynn of St. Clairsville stood among the protesters.

“I’m just appalled by the whole state of affairs and the fact this could be happening in America,” he said. “It seems like a travesty of justice, and an overturning of democracy.

“The most important issue to me is the overturn of the legal system, and that Trump has made a travesty of the courts and is trashing our democracy.”

Darlene Stradwick of Wheeling said the issue of anticipated cuts to Social Security and health care are what have her personally concerned. She carried a sign showing photos of her late son, who had health issues throughout his life.

“We used Medicare, we used Medicaid, we used Social Security (to cover costs),” she said. “His school helped him do better so he could be successful as he went through life. Those are things that are very important here.

“I think we need to save our country – save it from what is going on. Everything that Donald Trump is doing is harmful to everyone. We need to do things to make sure everyone knows we want better – we need better – than what is going on right now.”

Protester Steve Latacz noted he is a retired teacher from Sherrard Middle School and a former union president at Marshall County Schools.

“This is clearly democracy at its best,” he said. “All of us read the signs, and there is so much truth here as opposed to all the vitriol we hear from Trump.

“I can’t believe what has happened to the Department of Education, and what is essentially happening to all (government agencies),” he continued. “These (Department of Government Efficiency) cuts should have been done differently, or in a way that doesn’t affect as many people.”

Latacz added he has a friend who is a medical doctor with the Veterans Administration and he reports “she is going to lose her job after being there 19 years” as a result of DOGE cutbacks.

“How can we attack our veterans this way? Trump and Musk must go,” he continued.

Shawna Roberts – a former Democratic congressional candidate from the village of Belmont – explained it is important for the public to assemble and discuss what is bad when they believe government is doing wrong things.

“We need to show each other that we also know that it is going bad,” shesaid. “This is what this is. We know it’s wrong. We shouldn’t have our Social Security cut, or have our unions destroyed. We shouldn’t have our education system destroyed in this country.

“We agree this is bad, and it gives people heart to know that other people are concerned. There is so much stuff going on now.”

Roberts acknowledged being angry about the state of the world.

“We are treating immigrants badly, and everything else is also bad,” she said. “When this country begins to treat immigrants badly, it begins to treat its regular citizens badly. We can see that here.

“But this gives me hope,” she continued. “This is saying we have the ability to stand up when things are wrong. It’s hope more than anger for me.”