CAPE MAY – More than 140 people marched across town and staged mock deaths on Saturday, March 29, to protest the United States’ withering support for Ukraine in the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War and to call for an end to the conflict.
The march began at the end of Decatur Street by the beach and proceeded to Rotary Park with megaphone chants and flags waving.
Jane Poulliot, from Ocean View, carried a full-size American flag upside down as she walked in the middle of the street. Poulliot cried as she spoke to the Herald, saying that America’s drastic turnabout on support for Ukraine has left her heartbroken.
“I love my country, but every day I cannot believe what is happening,” she said, stressing that her upside-down flag was not a symbol of disdain for America but a sign of distress. “Our country is being taken over by fascists. I don’t want to see my country change like this.”
Other protesters also flew upside-down flags, but none as large. Ukraine flags were the most common; the crowd was awash with yellow and blue signs, the flag’s colors. One sign, held highest above the crowd via a wooden plank, had the words “Mayhem” and “Murder” in simulated blood splatter over photos of President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin of Russia, respectively.
A dozen protesters told the Herald that they feel America has betrayed Ukraine. A touchstone for them was the Feb. 28 White House meeting between Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.
At the meeting, the two American politicians criticized Zelensky’s attitude, clothing and supposed lack of willingness to negotiate peace with Russia. The meeting ended on tense terms, and the following day the Trump administration suspended financial aid for Ukraine and ceased intelligence sharing with the country.
“Donald Trump I feel has betrayed Ukraine,” Maggie Morin, from North Cape May, told the Herald. “That meeting at the White House was so upsetting to me. He belittled and made fun of him, so did J.D. Vance.
“Putin invaded Ukraine, and they were defending themselves. What we were doing was supplying them with equipment and intelligence, look what happened. He took away the intelligence, and the next day Russia bombed the hell out of them.”
Mayor Zach Mullock of Cape May said in a speech on the Rotary Park stage that America’s wavering support for Ukraine represents a “profound test of our values.”
Mullock said that his ancestors are Ukrainian and that his grandparents fought in World War II against the kind of dictator who now is battering Ukraine.
“The struggle of Ukraine is in fact our struggle,” he said, interrupted by cheers from the crowd. “It is a battle between democracy and dictatorship, between freedom and oppression, between the will of the people and the ambition of a single authoritarian regime.”
Mullock made reference to the attacks on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, when NATO member states pledged support for the United States, implying it is time now for America to show similar support for allies in Europe who continue to support Ukraine.
He spoke against Elon Musk, who said on March 3 in a Twitter post that the United States should leave both NATO and the United Nations.
“Today, we have unelected billionaires suggesting that we should leave NATO, the most successful treaty in the history of the world,” the mayor said. “When you hear people suggest we should leave NATO, know that this is a stance from someone who forgets. They forget who our allies are, they forget who has helped us, they forget what the atrocities of war are like.”
Deborah Pangle, an organizer with Cape May County Indivisible, called on members of the crowd to lie down as if they were dead in front of Rotary Park’s bandstand. Several did so while the crowd observed a moment of silence.
The death toll so far in the war is unknown and varies by source. Carolyn Rush, a Democratic candidate for the state Assembly, cited in her speech a conservative number of 50,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed. The Wall Street Journal reported in September 2024 that 80,000 Ukrainian and 200,000 Russian soldiers are dead.
The protest caught the attention of passers-by. The event took place near the busiest outdoor mall on the Cape during one the busiest tourism days of the year so far.
The county has seen several major protests since the Trump administration took power in January: This is the fourth in that time. The others were on Feb. 5 in Rio Grande against Trump’s immigration policy, on President’s Day, Feb. 17, in Court House against the administration’s expansion of executive power, and on March 8 in Cape May on International Women’s Day.
Many at the Ukraine protest expressed feelings of anger and shock that America has turned so dramatically against aid for Ukraine. Scott Wolf, from West Cape May, spoke to the Herald while wrapped in a Ukrainian flag. He said that the war is a power grab for Putin and drew parallels to Trump’s far-reaching policy actions that are made possible through declarations of national emergency. Trump has enacted tariffs and no-trial deportations through three declarations of national emergency.
Brandon Saffold, a Democratic candidate for the Assembly in the 1st District, said in a brief speech that local business leaders who use J-1 visa labor should speak against the Trump administration’s stance on Ukraine. He called out Curtis Bashaw, the owner of Cape Resorts and one of the largest employers in Cape May. Bashaw unsuccessfully ran for the Senate in 2024 against Sen. Andy Kim. “You have used a lot of Ukrainian immigrants to your gain,” he said.
Bashaw, in a call with the Herald, declined to comment but directed readers to his campaign website, which mentions Ukraine once. “If we had a strong leader in the White House, Russia would not have invaded Ukraine,” it reads.
Contact the reporter, Collin Hall, at chall@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 156.
