WASHINGTON — Nearly eight years after the first Women’s March in Washington demonstrated a furious backlash to the election of Donald Trump, thousands of women gathered again in the capital and across the country Saturday, this time with the hope that Vice President Kamala Harris would triumph at the polls and prevent his return to the White House.
The rally and march, taking place three days before the election, was much smaller than the original in 2017 that drew at least 470,000 people — three times the number of people who had attended Trump’s inauguration the day before. But the mood was far more optimistic, if also somewhat combative.
“We will not go back!” was the rallying cry Saturday, echoing what has become a signature line for Harris on the campaign trail. While the march was primarily focused on threats to women’s reproductive rights and other liberties, speakers and signs expressed support for a wide array of Democratic and progressive policy positions. Those included gun control, transgender rights and support for Palestinians. The speakers also urged people to vote, and to take others to vote, although many people in the crowd said they had already cast a ballot for Harris.
“I just hope that all these people — not just women, but men — convince a few people to vote and vote the way we want them. Vote for democracy and our rights, reproductive rights,” said Janis Wolbrink, 69.
Wolbrink was joined by her two sisters, each carrying a bright pink sign that read, “Now you’ve pissed-off Grandma.” Together, the three of them had 24 grandchildren.
The crowd, gathered at Freedom Plaza in downtown Washington, was largely cheerful and optimistic.
Many brought their young children and dogs, and a Ben &Jerry’s truck handed out free ice cream. People ran up to take photos of the wittiest signs, like Wolbrink’s, and crowded dozens of booths handing out pins and stickers or selling T-shirts. There were as many Harris-Walz caps as there were pink beanies, and plenty of people wearing Harris campaign shirts and apparel.
But some could not hide their apprehension.
“I’m nervous because I feel like a lot of the Trump rhetoric around masculinity and being threatened by women and having to fight against women is still really a powerful message,” said Joanna Theiss, 42, with her 8-year-old daughter, Nola, sitting in her lap.
“I feel we should think positive rather than negative,” her mother-in-law, Patty Higgins, 75, said. But she added of Trump, “I just don’t think he’s a very good role model for somebody like Nola.”
Both the rally and the march drew a few anti-abortion protesters with bullhorns, including a group that wound up near the beginning of the march, resulting in a handful of altercations. But the police presence was limited to about a dozen officers on bikes.
Organizers said the rally was timed to cap get-out-the-vote efforts across the country, and sister marches were planned in all 50 states.
Organizers of the Women’s March, which now takes place annually, also regularly hold other events related to its mission of building “a feminist, multiracial democracy.”
Both parties in the race have increasingly focused on reaching women. After the Supreme Court overturned constitutional protection for the right to an abortion, Harris leaned into the role of defending reproductive rights. She has rallied Democrats by repeatedly tying Trump’s political legacy to women who died as a result of delayed medical care in states where abortion was outlawed after the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Democrats have sought to mobilize even Republican women, encouraging them to vote on that issue — even if they have husbands who might not approve.
On the other hand, Trump has insisted that he will protect women “whether the women like it or not” — a line that his opponents and even his advisers say evokes his past misogynistic comments.
Tracy Anderson, 53, who came to Washington on her own from Delray Beach, Florida, was drawn to Saturday’s event although she is a registered Republican. Anderson, who does not have any children, said she was frustrated with the rhetoric coming from Republicans that women had to have families to be considered important in society. Being at the march on Saturday gave her a sense of relief.
“I was like, I need to be around my people,” Anderson said. She had been so excited to vote for Harris that she cast her ballot in October on the first day of early voting in Florida.
Anderson said she hoped the energy from the crowd would sustain her through Election Day and the aftermath, which could include a contested election. If all goes as she hopes, she has plane tickets back to Washington for the inauguration. If not, she will be canceling her flight — but she was prepared to accept that outcome.
“Whoever wins, wins,” Anderson said. “If Donald Trump wins, I’m not going to protest. This is the will of the people.”
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
© 2024 The New York Times Company