(The Lion) — Over the weekend, anti-Trump protests were staged across the U.S., organized by liberal groups funded by billionaire Democrats such as George Soros and LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman.

The protests, branded as “grassroots,” were supported by civil disobedience toolkits and signs provided by organizations like Mobilize.us and Indivisible.

Mobilize.us, as a part of its “grassroots” credentials, has its own investment banker to raise money for it.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration fired six National Security Council (NSC) officials, citing concerns over leaks and disloyalty. ​This follows the dismissal of NSA Director Gen. Timothy Haugh and other staffers, raising questions about Biden holdovers in national security roles.

In trade news, Vietnam’s leader To Lam proposed a “zero” tariff agreement with the U.S. during a call with President Donald Trump, highlighting Vietnam’s growing role as a manufacturing hub.

Trump praised the proposal and plans to visit Vietnam soon.

Additionally, the Trump administration sidelined DOJ attorney Erez Reuveni for failing to represent the government’s position in a deportation case involving an alleged MS-13 gang member.

Attorney General Pam Bondi emphasized the need for DOJ lawyers to defend federal policies.

Sponsored Trump protests

Bolstered by civil disobedience “toolkits” sponsored in part by liberal billionaires, anti-Trump protests were staged in over 1,000 locations in the U.S. this weekend.

The protesters accused the president and Trump ally Elon Musk of looting the country for the benefit of billionaires.

“They’re looting our government. And they think we’ll just watch,” said the protest site, Demcast, which supplied toolkits to facilitate the protests. “On Saturday, April 5th, we rise up with one demand: Hands Off!”

Another site, hosted by the Democrat front group Indivisible, provided “Hands Off!” signs, customized to include a laundry list of Democrat priorities such as support for abortion, continued war in Ukraine and the protection of postal worker jobs.

The Associated Press (AP) billed the movement as a spontaneous outgrowth “organized online under the hashtags #buildtheresistance and #50501, which stands for 50 protests, 50 states, one day.”

But in fact, the protests were highly organized by billionaire Democrats, who at the very least provided money to found some of the key facilitators.

Mobilize.us, another protest organizer, for example, was organized as a for-profit company, complete with its own investment banker and its own billionaire investor, Reid Hoffman, founder of LinkedIn.

Hoffman is also a funder of Indivisible through his “investment” arm, reported the Washington Free Beacon.

Mobilize.us raised money in a Series A round, with investors including the Democrat Party of Virginia, ActBlue and Fine Day Ventures. It’s part of a larger pattern of Democrats using dark money tactics to obscure donor identities using nonprofits, law firms and now venture capital companies, while claiming “grassroots” status.

The AP referred to the Trump policies being protested as a part of the “hard-right playbook for American government and society.”

While the characterization of Trump policies as the “hard-right playbook” might stretch rhetorical limits for a newswire service, it’s clear that taking to the streets to protest against Trump is part of a larger liberal plan to foster unrest behind rich, progressive radicals.

Last month, Musk accused ActBlue “funders … George Soros, Reid Hoffman, Herbert Sandler, Patricia Bauman, and Leah Hunt-Hendrix” of helping to organize protests against Tesla that morphed into violence and vandalism against the electric vehicle maker.

Some on social media have compared the protests to tactics used in 2020 during the Black Lives Matter protests.

Trump administration fires more NSC officials

The number of people fired at the National Security Council (NSC) rose to six on Friday night, according to updated reports from multiple media outlets.

The latest firings follow the dismissal of three NSC staffers on Thursday and the firing of the director of the National Security Agency (NSA), Air Force Gen. Timothy Haugh.

Questions were raised about the relationship between Haugh, a Biden appointee, and Gen. Mark Milley (Ret.), who the administration accused of undermining the president when Milley was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during Trump’s first term.

On Friday, Maggie Dougherty, who oversaw international organizations at the NSC, was also let go, two sources told Reuters.

The other two staffers terminated have not yet been named.

The firings follow several leaks of sensitive information, including the addition of a journalist in a Signal chat talking about an air strike on Houthi elements in Yemen.

Both political parties have questioned how a journalist could have been added to the group without anyone noticing.

On the GOP side, partisans say the incident is reminiscent of Trump’s first term, where disloyal national security bureaucrats, such as Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, allegedly worked to sabotage and disrupt Trump defense policies.

The terminations follow a meeting between Trump and activist Laura Loomer, who warned the president about the administration’s failure to properly vet Biden holdovers in the national security infrastructure.

Vietnam looks for tariff agreement with US

Vietnam’s top leader, To Lam, became the first world leader to directly suggest a “zero” tariff policy to President Trump.

In a letter dated Saturday, Lam asked Trump to delay imposition of the stiff 46% tariff proposed by the U.S. president while both sides hammer out a trade agreement “for the benefit of both our peoples and to contribute to peace, stability and development in the region and the world,” according to a copy of the letter obtained by the New York Times.

Vietnam has been a major beneficiary of the U.S. shift away from trade with China with companies such as Nike and Apple moving manufacturing to the Southeast Asian country.

The letter followed a phone call between the two leaders on Friday, which Trump referenced on social media.

“Just had a very productive call with To Lam, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, who told me that Vietnam wants to cut their Tariffs down to ZERO if they are able to make an agreement with the U.S. I thanked him on behalf of our Country,” Trump posted on Truth Social.

The Trump administration is hoping the Vietnam call will set the pattern for other countries to follow on trade talks, noting that 50 countries have made similar requests for agreements.

Lam and Trump agreed that the U.S. president will visit Vietnam soon, with both countries becoming an increasingly important counterweight to China regionally.

Trump admin sidelines DOJ lawyer

The Trump administration said it removed an attorney from a case involving the deportation of a man to El Salvador’s notorious Terrorism Confinement Center.

The Justice Department’s (DOJ) attorney was placed on leave after he repeatedly failed to represent the government’s position in a case where the administration identified a deportee as a member of a criminal gang, MS-13.

Previously federal lawyers had admitted that an administrative error was made in the case, although it’s unclear what kind of error was made, reported Fox News.

Government attorney Erez Reuveni told the judge in the case that reputed gang member Abrego Garcia “should not have been removed” from the U.S., according to NBC News. He added that he didn’t know why Garcia was ever arrested.

“I am also frustrated that I also have no answers for you on a lot of these questions,” Reuveni told the judge.

Reuveni was put on administrative leave by the DOJ on Saturday, said Attorney General Pam Bondi.

“This individual is an illegal criminal who broke our nation’s immigration laws. He is a leader in the brutal MS-13 gang, and he is involved in human trafficking,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters about Garcia, according to Fox.

Bondi said Garcia was using enrollment in electrician school as a cover for his gang activities.

“That’s how they’re hiding. That’s how they’re succeeding,” she added, while noting DOJ attorneys are bound to “vigorously argue on behalf” of the federal government, which Reuveni did not do.