Thousands of protesters march in Washington days before Trump takes office
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WASHINGTON — Thousands of people from around the United States rallied in the nation’s capital Saturday for women’s reproductive rights and other causes they say are under threat from the incoming Trump administration, reprising the original Women’s March days before President-elect Donald Trump‘s second inauguration.
Eight years after the first Women’s March at the start of Trump’s first term, marchers said they were caught off guard by Trump’s victory and are determined now to show that support remains strong for women’s access to abortion, for transgender people, for combating climate change and other issues.
The march is just one of several protests, rallies and vigils focused on abortion rights, immigration rights and the Israel-Hamas war planned in advance of the inauguration Monday. Around the country, more than 350 similar marches are taking place, in every state.
Jill Parrish of Austin, Texas, said she initially bought a plane ticket to Washington for what she expected to be Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris’ inauguration. She wound up changing the dates to march in protest ahead of Trump’s swearing-in instead, saying the world should know that half of U.S. voters didn’t support Trump.
“Most importantly, I’m here to demonstrate my fear about the state of our democracy,” Parrish said.
Demonstrators staged in squares around Washington ahead of the march, pounding drums and yelling chants under a slate-gray sky and in a chilly wind. Protesters then marched to the Lincoln Memorial for a larger rally and fair, where organizations at the local, state and national level hosted information tables.
They held signs with slogans including, “Save America” and “Against abortions? Then don’t have one” and “Hate won’t win.”
There were brief moments of tension between protesters and Trump supporters streaming into the capital, but police mostly kept the groups apart.
Trump was returning to Washington on Saturday to kick off days of pageantry for his second inauguration, four years after he departed the city under the shadow of a deadly attack and insurrection by his supporters on the Capitol.
The ritualistic changing of power was getting underway as Washington’s pomp is paired with Trump’s brand of party: a fireworks showcase at one of his luxury golf properties.
With the nation’s capital facing frigid temperatures, organizers were scrambling to move most of Monday’s inauguration events indoors, including the swearing-in ceremony. On Pennsylvania Avenue, crews were breaking down metal bleachers that would have been used as outdoor inauguration viewing stands.
Protester Rick Glatz, of Manchester, N.H., said he came to Washington for the sake of his four granddaughters: ”I’m a grandpa. And that’s why I’m marching.”
Minnesota high school teacher Anna Bergman wore her original pink pussyhat from her time in the 2017 Women’s March, a moment that captured the shock and anger of many women and others at Trump’s first win.
With Trump coming back now, “I just wanted to be surrounded by like-minded people on a day like today,” Bergman said.
Rebranded and reorganized, the rally has a new name — the People’s March — as a means to broaden support, especially during a reflective moment for progressive organizing after Trump’s win in November.
Women outraged over Trump’s 2016 presidential victory flocked to Washington in 2017 and organized large rallies in cities throughout the country, building the base of a grassroots movement that became known as the Women’s March. The Washington rally alone attracted more than 500,000 marchers, and millions more participated in local marches around the country, marking one of the largest single-day demonstrations in U.S. history.
This year, the crowd was far smaller than the expected 50,000 participants, already just one-tenth the size of the first one. The demonstration came amid a moment of reflection among Trump opponents as many progressive voters navigate exhaustion, disappointment and despair after Harris’ loss.
The comparative quiet contrasts sharply with the visceral fury of the 2017 inaugural rally as massive crowds shouted demands into megaphones and marched in pink pussyhats in response to Trump’s first election win.
“The reality is that it’s just hard to capture lightning in a bottle,” said Tamika Middleton, managing director at the Women’s March. “It was a really particular moment. In 2017, we had not seen a Trump presidency and the kind of vitriol that that represented.”
President-elect Donald Trump could start taking action Monday on his many “Day 1” campaign promises, but California officials and others are ready to fight.
The movement fractured after that hugely successful day of protests over accusations that it was not diverse enough. This year’s rebrand as a People’s March is the result of an overhaul intended to broaden the group’s appeal. Saturday’s demonstration will promote themes related to feminism, racial justice, anti-militarization and other issues and will end with discussions hosted by social justice organizations.
The People’s March is unusual in the “vast array of issues brought together under one umbrella,” said Jo Reger, a sociology professor who researches social movements at Oakland University in Rochester, Mich. Women’s suffrage marches, for example, were focused on a specific goal of voting rights.
For a broad-based social justice movement such as the march, conflicting visions are impossible to avoid and there is “immense pressure” for organizers to meet everyone’s needs, Reger said. But she also said some discord isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
“Often what it does is bring change and bring in new perspectives, especially of underrepresented voices,” Reger said.
Middleton, of the Women’s March, said a massive demonstration like the one in 2017 was not the goal of Saturday’s event. Instead, it’s to focus attention on a broader set of issues — women’s and reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights, immigration, climate and democracy.
“We’re not thinking about the march as the endgame,” Middleton said. “How do we get those folks who show up into organizations and into their political homes so they can keep fighting in their communities long-term?”
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