Protesters lament Trump administration during Vance visit to Kansas City
Vice President JD Vance’s visit to a Kansas City manufacturing company drew a small group of protesters who waved signs, sang and lamented President Donald Trump’s administration on Monday.
They watched from a distance as Vance’s motorcade rolled in and out of the Milbank Manufacturing facility on Deramus Avenue, where the vice president touted the administration’s manufacturing policies during a 30-minute speech.
Some of those present at the protest were puzzled by the visit, and some criticized administration policies on a range of subjects, like immigration enforcement, cuts to the federal government, foreign relations and the war in Iran. Some who gathered near the Vance visit were part of the group Singing Resistance Kansas City, which carried a handful of tunes as a soundtrack to the protest.
“I don’t think that they’ve really done much to help Kansas City,” said Chelsea MacPherson, of Overland Park, who said she joined the small group of protesters because she wanted to make her voice heard. “All that they’ve done from my perspective is make things more expensive, make it harder to have a business.”
MacPherson was critical of Sen. Roger Marshall, who was among the elected officials at the Vance event, saying that like the Trump administration, Marshall has been unresponsive to constituents.
“I know this is kind of a long shot, but just trying to get their attention and want them to know we’re here, and we want to talk to you,” she said, holding a sign emblazoned with the words “Vance and Marshall suck.”
Christy Allen, another protester, said she felt Vance’s visit was part of him testing the waters for a 2028 presidential run. Allen said she was concerned about the administration’s mixing of government and religion, the targeting of marginalized groups and the Iran war.
“If it doesn’t look like our lives are changing here in Kansas City, we think it’s no big deal, but it is a big deal,” she said. “It’s going to cause us to have problems. You want to see ICE agents at the polls? I don’t. That’s terrifying to me, and they easily could do it.”
Jenny Brendel, who lives in Kansas and drove about an hour to join in Monday’s protest, said she was concerned about Immigration and Customs Enforcement “having no checks and balances,” the Iran war and “out of control” spending for renovations to the White House that Trump has sought.
“I just feel like we need to let people know that we do not support that, even here in the Midwest,” she said.
