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Do These Signs at Anti-Trump Rallies Mean What Conservatives Think?

Leah Barkoukis
Leah Barkoukis  |  April 07, 2025 10:00 AM

Liberals gathered over the weekend at more than 1,200 “Hands Off” demonstrations across the country to protest President Donald Trump, his immigration agenda, and Elon Musk, who’s been the face of trimming a bloated federal government through the Department of Government Efficiency.

Earlier this morning, Matt pointed out a peculiar aspect of these demonstrations: most of the participants were old, with some estimating the median age was 70. But there was another disturbing feature. 

A number of demonstrators had signs that read “8647.” From my days long ago waitressing, “86” meant an item sold out and we had to remove it from the menu. If you look around at news reports about this “silent form of protest,” they will similarly say it’s a reference to “get rid of” something, meaning when put with “47,” a reference to Trump being the 47th president, people who are displaying it want to get rid of Trump (the 47th president) “or make it so that he is no longer the president.” Slang dictionaries will tell you 86 can also mean to kill.

So while there’s a number of interpretations on what 8647 means, many on the right are seeing it as a call to assassinate Trump.

Then there's this argument, as summarized by Grok: 

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While 8647 is up for debate, others at these protests were more clear about their wishes, as Matt highlighted earlier.