Kim Wozniak felt compelled to show up at Franklin Park for the People’s March on Saturday for many reasons. She said she has a granddaughter who “deserves better” and felt that women are being treated as second-class citizens.
But it was talking about potential looming tariffs under President-elect Trump and how they could impact her livelihood that made her voice give.
“I’m a small business owner that imports from eight other countries, and if he starts tariffing us, my small family business might not survive that,” said Wozniak, whose Wisconsin business sells art supplies to artists. “It’s hard. It’s really hard.”
Wozniak is just one of the many protesters who came to march in Washington as they demonstrated against the incoming president, who’s readying for a second term in office, while also making their voices heard on a range of issues.
“So back in 2017, we made history,” Women’s March managing director Tamika Middleton told the crowd on Saturday, referring to the estimated 500,000 who marched in the city then. “And today we are here to make our future.”
Throngs of demonstrators marched through the streets of downtown Washington on the drizzly Saturday for the People’s March, organized by a coalition of groups, including the Women’s March. The coalition advertised the event as a “a day of joyful resistance, community building, and powerful action.”
As they snaked their way toward the Lincoln Memorial, rallygoers chanted refrains like “Trust Black women!” and “Hey hey! Ho ho! Donald Trump has got to go!”
Pink “pussy” hats — worn as a rebuke to Trump’s infamous comments about groping women in a leaked “Access Hollywood” tape — dotted the crowds while people held signs that read “Love more Trump less,” “My body my choice” and “No uterus? No opinion.”
As the protesters gathered to hear the speakers, advocates urged attendees to “take up space,” spoke about the need for clemency among those who deemed wrongfully incarcerated and pushed for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, in light of the ceasefire deal that was announced this week.
“Today, we have a choice: To accept a future that is forced on us or to fight for the future that we want,” Middleton told those gathered, as she framed the fight ahead.
Activists and advocates also took some swings at Trump during their speeches.
Sierra Club executive director Ben Jealous told the crowd that while Trump may want to undo Democrats’ major climate and health package that was signed into law in 2022, he added “We know what happened when he tried to undo Obama’s signature accomplishment,” referring to the Affordable Care Act.
“I’ll tell you this, they only attack us because they fear us. They know that last time this man who comes back into office on Monday — last time that man was in office, we sued him hundreds of times, and we won hundreds of times,” he said.
Organizers had expected 50,000 people to attend the march — it’s a stark contrast from the estimated 500,000 people who demonstrated during the Women’s March in Washington in 2017, the beginning of Trump’s first term in office.
Some experts have suggested different reasons for why there are fewer people this time around, including the idea that advocates are employing different strategies to counter Trump, including protesting, and possible fatigue among some.
“The number that I’m actually paying attention to is the 90 million that stayed home,” Analilia Mejia, the co-executive director of the Center for Popular Democracy, told The Hill when asked about the difference in numbers.
“As many organizers, I’m focused on, what was it that kept so many of our community from participating? What was it that they didn’t hear? What is it that they need to engage on?” said Meija, who served as Sen. Bernie Sanders’ national political director for his 2020 presidential campaign.
The People’s March comes as Democrats are grappling with a disappointing November election, one that members of the party say they lost because of the way voters viewed their brand and for not being sympathetic enough to issues like the cost of living.
With President Biden departing the White House soon and as Democrats get ready to elect their next chair for the Democratic National Committee (DNC), the party is also wrestling with a leadership void.
Despite what may seem like a bleak time for some, it didn’t stop people from traveling from across the country to be there Saturday.
Donning a knitted pink “pussy” hat, Anna Bachman, who traveled from Cleveland, said she came to the Saturday event because she had wanted to attend the 2017 Women’s March but couldn’t because of her job. She said important for her to make her voice heard today.
“It definitely felt like 500,000 people were marching while we were out there,” she said, the sun no longer behind the clouds.
