As Donald Trump prepared Tuesday to address a joint session of Congress, protest groups gathered at parks, statehouses and other public grounds across the country to assail his presidency as dangerous and un-American.

The rallies and marches — set in motion by the fledgling 50501 Movement, a volunteer-driven group organized in the weeks after Trump’s inauguration — mark the latest attempt at national resistance to the hardened support of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” base and the success it has had in reshaping the Republican Party in the president’s populist image.

Yet some early scenes Tuesday vividly demonstrated the difficulty Democrats, progressives and everyday citizens face in marshaling a tangible response to Trump and the swift, sweeping actions of his second administration. Protesters have so many things to push back against — from tariffs to Trump’s reset on the war in Ukraine to the aggressive and sometimes legally dubious actions of the Department of Government Efficiency and its leader, billionaire Elon Musk, that it’s hard to know what to focus on.

“There are so many things to fight, but I hope by being here we are starting some conversations,” said Sara Grummer-Strawn, who held a sign declaring “So Much Wrong, So Little Space,” followed by a small-print litany of topics from Ukraine and tariffs to potential education cuts to the denial of climate and vaccine science.

Around her in Atlanta were hundreds of people marching and chanting about a range of Trump initiatives. There were Palestinian flags and Ukrainian flags, along with signs bemoaning Trump ending military aid to Ukraine as it fights off the invading Russian troops of Vladimir Putin.

Trump was called a fascist, a “Russian asset,” “Putin’s Puppet” and “Wannabe King,” among other, more profane monikers. One signed implored “Punch Nazis,” reflecting an increasingly common effort to compare Trump’s presidency to Nazi Germany. Musk was a frequent target of mockery and ire. But there were also appeals for transgender rights, abortion rights and diversity. One understated sign appealed simply, “Save Our Parks.”

Events were scheduled throughout the day in all 50 states, ending late Tuesday in Hawaii.

In Austin, Texas, those gathered at the statehouse leaned in to support Ukraine. Pops of yellow — a nod to the colors of Ukraine’s national flag — dotted the crowd as protesters affixed sunflowers to their hair, hats and clothing. The Texas crowd, which numbered in the hundreds, eventually made its way through downtown, chanting, “Hey hey, ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go.”

“I think protests can be impactful,” said Carol Goodwin, an Austin resident active in the local advocacy scene. “I think these smaller protests are valuable for the people who come to express their frustrations, and I think this movement will grow over time.”

For some participants, Tuesday recalled 50501’s first day of national action on Feb. 5 — or the many women’s marches in 2017, at the outset of Trump’s first term. But for many others, it was a new step in their engagement.

Goodwin cited Trump’s tariffs against Canada and Mexico and the Oval Office exchange between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week as her reasons for attending.

In San Francisco, Michael Gray also pointed to that White House exchange with the Ukrainian leader. “The meeting with Zelenskyy … just made us so disgusted to see an American president act that way on the world stage,” said the Santa Rosa, California, resident.

Grayson Taylor, a 33-year-old who came to the Atlanta event, had not protested until this year. He described the actions of Trump, his Cabinet and Musk as a “billionaire coup” leading a government that “will be serving the ultra-rich.”

Another Atlanta attendee, 67-year-old Phyllis Bedford, said she came to her first political protest because she felt overwhelmed by the breadth of Trump’s actions.

“I was thinking on my way here what I want to say about the situation,” said Bedford, who drove from Republican-leaning Snellville, on the outer edges of metro Atlanta. “All I could come up with is, ‘I’m sorry.’ I am sorry to Canada. I’m sorry, Mexico. I’m sorry, Greenland. I’m so, so sorry, Ukraine and President Zelenskyy. … We’re just so wrong. And we don’t all support this man.”