The election of Donald J. Trump as US president has inspired some of the most heated political debate in years, and his inauguration today has spawned a slew of protests against him, and rallies in his favor in the US and around the world.
In Washington DC, which has voted against every Republican candidate since it began voting as a separate district in 1964, a least a dozen events are planned for inauguration day (a great list is here), and protestors have already started blocking off the entrances.
Highlights of the day are likely to be:
#InaugurateTheResistance: A permitted protest that’s predicted to gather a crowd of 10,000 at the Navy Memorial, the protest is aimed at “building a larger grassroots movement against war, militarism, racism, anti-immigrant scapegoating and neoliberal capitalism’s assault against workers’ living standards and the environment.”
The 58th Inaugural Halftime Rally: Organized by Bikers for Trump, the rally is a response to the protests organized against Trump. Group members say they are are “ready for confrontation,” they say. It will be held at John Marshall Park along the parade route.
Outside DC, anti-Trump organizers have planned #standuptoTrump protests on Friday in London, while thousands protested outside Trump Tower in New York on Thursday night.
On Saturday in Washington, some 200,000 people are expected to show up for the “Women’s March” that starts on Pennsylvania Avenue, and supports women’s rights but also has become an umbrella for anti-Trump causes. Women’s Marches are planned in every US state except Maryland, West Virginia, Alabama, and South Carolina. Also on Saturday, Women’s Marches will be held in more than a dozen countries around the world, including in England, and Mexico. There is also a “Women’s March” in Antarctica.