Anti-Trump Protesters Crash Upper East Side's Mnuchin Gallery

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Protesters attempted to crash an Upper East Side art gallery owned by the father of Donald Trump's pick for Treasury Secretary. Demonstrators from the protest group "Government Sachs" banged on the doors of the Mnuchin Gallery on East 78th Street and Madison Avenue around 10:30 Friday morning, according to witnesses.

"Mnuchin. Suck it. Trump is a puppet!" protesters shouted.

The art gallery is owned and operated by Robert Mnuchin, father to Steven Mnuchin who is undergoing the confirmation process to become the next Treasury Secretary of the United States. Both father and son had long careers at the investment banking firm Goldman Sachs.

The protest group "Government Sachs" has orchestrated protests throughout New York City during the week of Trump's inauguration. The group's goal is to expose the hypocrisy of Trump's campaign message that he would "drain the swamp" of Washington D.C., and reduce the power of Wall Street and lobbyists in government.

"It’s about highlighting the lie that was told to millions of people in this country, the lie that Trump was draining the swamp. If we really want the swamp to be drained, we have to do it ourselves and we’re doing it by going to Goldman Sachs,” Nelini Stamp of the Working Families Party told The Guardian.

Mnuchin worked at Goldman Sachs for 17 years before striking out on his own as a hedge fund manager. The Trump administration has faced criticism for the choice, given Trump's campaign attacks on Hillary Clinton for her closeness to Goldman Sachs. Mnuchin also has little public record of policy views, and no prior government experience.

He's also faced criticism for his role as an investor in OneWest Bank, which opponents say aggressively foreclosed on homeowners during the financial crisis.

Photo by Lew Perin via Twitter