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| These look like real working women to me🙌 |
WASHINGTON – Several hundred thousand
people from across the country descended on Washington Saturday to
protest Donald Trump just hours into his presidency, donning bright pink
hats and carrying a dizzying array of political signs – in a
celebrity-studded march that put the nation’s lingering divisions on
full display despite the 45
th president’s appeal a day earlier for unity.
The protesters, most of whom were women, were largely
peaceful by comparison with the scattered bands of rioters who wreaked
havoc on parts of D.C. during Friday’s inauguration. This crowd was far
larger and more organized.
But the march grew more chaotic as the day went on
and protesters moved from the National Mall into the streets. And
despite indications from some organizers last week that the
demonstration was not defined as “anti-Trump,” it was in every respect a
march against the new president -- kicking off as he attended a
National Prayer Service after waking up in the White House for the first
time.
“A platform of hate and division assumed power
yesterday,” actress America Ferrera told the crowd Saturday morning on
the National Mall. “But the president is not America. We are America.”
Other celebrities including Madonna and Michael Moore
stirred up the crowd, with Madonna making perhaps the most inflammatory
comments. In profanity-laced remarks, the singer said she had “thought
an awful lot about blowing up the White House” but knows “this won’t
change anything.”
While called the Women's March on Washington, the
protest attracted families of men, women and children mostly sporting
pro-women and anti-Trump messages. Hundreds of “sister marches” were
held in other cities across the U.S. and internationally.
“Of course this is an anti-Trump march,” a local
ambassador for the D.C. march, who declined to give his name, said as he
directed the crowds toward the rally. “Sure, of course it’s for rights,
but it’s really against Trump.”
Another protester called Trump a “terrible president,” though he has only had the keys to the Oval Office for one day.
In his inaugural address Friday, Trump spoke in stark
terms about America's problems but also called for a "new national
pride" to heal divisions. Saturday's march showed protesters united --
only in opposition to the new president, on the grounds where just 24
hours earlier, Trump supporters cheered their candidate’s ascension to
power.
Women wearing “pussy-hats” -- hand-knit pointy-eared
pink winter headgear -- held posters with derogatory messages and
phrases bashing the president and filled the National Mall.
Officials estimated a crowd of 500,000 people, which
is more than double what march organizers had predicted. One D.C.
official told the Associated Press that the massive turnout also forced
organizers to revise plans to march on the White House, and instead head
to the nearby ellipse.
Children at times held political messages alongside
their parents. One family pushed their toddler son through the crowds in
a stroller, wearing a sign that read “Who will have a bigger tantrum?
Trump or me?”
The signs touched on a range of other issues,
including statements against controversial oil pipelines, drone warfare,
voter ID laws and more.
The march, while mostly peaceful, did see isolated
incidents, with some women vandalizing portable restrooms designated for
the inauguration ceremonies by bashing the locks off with bricks, and
some screaming in the faces of a group of people holding signs with
Christian messages.
“We’re not here against Trump, but we’re not here for
him either,” one of the sign-holders said. “We just want to share that
God demonstrated his love towards everyone, regardless of what you
believe in.”
March organizers also had uninvited the group “New
Wave Feminists,” which initially co-sponsored the event, after finding
out that the group held a pro-life stance.
“It’s a very specific type of diversity, which does
not include everyone,” Founder and President of New Wave Feminists
Destiny Herndon-De La Rosa said on “Fox & Friends” Saturday morning.
She said despite the lack of invitation, her group still planned to
march. “Any time women come together, exciting things happen – so we
definitely wanted to be there with the pro-life contingent.”
The movement spread far beyond Washington, as more
than 600 “sister marches” were planned spanning as far abroad as Myanmar
and Australia. In Prague, hundreds gathered in freezing weather; in
Copenhagen and Sydney, thousands marched.
The D.C. march attracted celebrity participants who
took a lead role in pumping up the crowd -- like Ashley Judd, who spoke
at a morning rally, and Ferrera, who led the artist contingent
scheduling appearances and performances from singers Cher and Katy
Perry, comedian Amy Schumer, and actresses Scarlett Johansson, Julianne
Moore, Debra Messing and Patricia Arquette.
A day after the inaugural ceremonies, though, Trump
supporters were still in town and keeping a presence. Overlooking the
National Mall on Saturday were members of the pro-Trump group Bikers for
Trump.
“I admire a group of like-minded people coming
together to march and to demonstrate,” founder Chris Cox said. “But
there are a lot of children out there and a lot of the signs are
certainly inappropriate – I think maybe they should be a little more
sensitive to some of their members.”
Cox said his group, whose message is to support
Trump’s agenda regarding Islamic extremism, support for veterans, and
illegal immigration, had several speakers scheduled, but was running
late due to the congestion from the Women’s March. The list included
bishops and two women whose children were killed by illegal immigrants.
Cox condemned the violence that broke out a day earlier.
“They say one thing, and preach and act on another
and we don’t condone violence,” Cox told said of his group. “We’re the
blue-collar, working guy, and we have a lot to lose – we’re not looking
for a fight, but hey, we’re not ones to back down from one either.”
