Thousands of people gathered in Washington on Saturday to protest President-elect Donald Trump’s upcoming inauguration. Activists advocating for women’s rights, racial justice, and other causes rallied against policies they believe will threaten constitutional rights during Trump’s second term.
Many protesters wore pink hats reminiscent of the larger demonstrations against Trump’s first inauguration in 2017. Despite the smaller turnout this time, participants marched through downtown Washington in light rain, passing the White House and heading toward the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall for the “People’s March.”
The reduced turnout is partly attributed to what some activists see as a more fractured women’s rights movement following Trump’s defeat of Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in November. Organizers estimated 50,000 attendees, though police expected closer to 25,000. Over 300 additional marches were planned across the country.
Reproductive rights groups joined forces with civil rights, environmental, and other advocacy organizations for the march. Trump, set to take office on Monday, previously lost his reelection bid in 2020 to President Joe Biden. In both of his electoral victories, Trump defeated candidates—Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Harris in 2024—who could have been the first female U.S. president. This time, Trump secured all seven battleground states and became the first Republican in two decades to win the popular vote.
Trump has promised sweeping changes on his first day in office, including immigration raids and dismantling parts of the federal government.
“There’s a sense of disillusionment,” said Olivia Hoffman, 26, who works at the Young Women’s Freedom Center in California and traveled with her mother to participate. “People feel like we’ve been fighting for the same things for so long.”
The march brought together a diverse array of causes, from immigration and democracy to climate change and the Gaza war.
One protester highlighted Trump’s pressure on Canada with a sign reading, “We are not your 51st state.”
