Shopping blackout aims to put Trump back in his box

As today's boycott evolves into a day of consumer action against the US president, Chris Blackhurst looks at whether deleting Amazon and other apps will really make a difference.

- Chris Blackhurst

Today is "Economic Blackout” day. American consumers are being asked to boycott all major retailers and to not make any purchases online and in-store for 24 hours. At the same time, Tesla cars in Europe are falling, a drop attributed in part to buyers protesting founder Elon Musk’s role at the top of US politics.

Something is stirring as Donald Trump and his “first buddy” Musk continue to provoke upset. Today’s blockade was not originally intended as a slap at Trump. Originally, its organiser, The People’s Union USA, headed by John Schwarz, was aimed at forcing the corporate giants to rethink their pricing, as ordinary people endure rising costs of household staples, energy, housing and utilities.

The 57-year-old dad from suburban Queens, New York, formed a group with no political affiliation directed at securing “fairness, justice and real systemic change”.

Word of the protest spread via social media, went global and turned into an anti-Trump blast. Attention for the one-day consumer action is focusing on companies such as Ford, McDonald’s, Meta, Target and Walmart that have ended their DEI programmes, falling in with Trump’s banning executive order. Schwarz wishes to go wider.

“For our entire lives, they have told us we have no choice ... that we have to accept these insane prices, the corporate greed, the billionaire tax breaks, all while we struggle to just to get by,” Schwarz said in a video posted on his Instagram. “February 28, the 24-hour economic blackout: no Amazon, no Walmart, no fast food, no gas, not a single unnecessary dollar spent ... for one day, we are going to finally turn the tables.”