Hundreds of thousands of women turned Washington’s National Mall into a sea of pink on Saturday, sending the first concerted message of grassroots opposition to Donald Trump since he moved into the White House.
“Minority president”, “Women roar” and “I’m afraid” were among the signs waved by a crowd which was made up mostly of women but also comprised some men and which far exceeded turnout for Friday’s inauguration. Many wore pink handknit “pussy hats” – a rebuke to the billionaire businessman once caught on tape bragging about his ability to “grab” women “by the pussy”. Organisers estimated that more than a million people attended.
Later, in a blistering press room debut, Trump’s press secretary Sean Spicer accused the press of “minimising the enormous support” that had turned out for Trump the day before.
He first accused some media of “deliberately false reporting”, citing a “particularly egregious example” of a reporter tweeting that a bust of Martin Luther King Jr had been removed from the Oval Office. “This was irresponsible and reckless,” he said. The night before, he had tweeted “apology accepted” to the reporter, who had apologised for the mistake.
On Saturday Spicer went on to say that photographs of the inauguration “were intentionally framed in a way in one particular tweet to minimise the enormous support that gathered on the National Mall.”
Almost shouting, Spicer continued: “Inaccurate numbers involving crowd size were also tweeted. No one had numbers because the National Park Service, which controls the National Mall, does not put any out. By the way, this applies to any attempt to count the number of protesters today in the same fashion.”
Spicer took no questions, and vaguely said the administration would “hold the press accountable”. Only a few hours earlier, President Trump had addressed CIA employees at the agency’s Virginia headquarters, where he mused at length on what he claimed to be the record crowd that witnessed it.
The Washington protest march was not the only one held in the US, however.From Atlanta to Phoenix, from Boston to Sacramento, “sister marches” staged a show of defiance by ordinary citizens determined to rebuke Trump’s values. An estimated 175,000 took to the streets of Chicago, the adopted home of former president Barack Obama.
The large crowd sent a clear signal to a man notorious for his thin skin and prone to boasting about the size of his crowds.
In the White House press room, Spicer also described a warm reception for Trump at the CIA, saying the president was given a standing ovation when he spoke there earlier in the afternoon. He blamed Senate Democrats for blocking the appointment of Mike Pompeo as director of the agency.
“That’s what you guys should be writing and covering instead of sowing division about tweets and false narratives,” Spicer admonished the press. “The president is committed to unifying our country and that was the focus of his inaugural address. This kind of dishonesty in the media, the challenging the bringing our nation together, is making it more difficult.”
Spicer also confirmed that the president would meet British prime minister Theresa May in Washington on Friday. Trump spoke on Saturday with Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto, and has a possible meeting with the latter on 31 January.
The noise of popular protest and angry administration statements contrasted sharply with the solemn mood on Saturday morning at the Washington National Cathedral, where Trump, first lady Melania and other family members attended a multi-faith prayer service.
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| President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump attends a prayer service at the National cathedral in Washington DC. Photograph: REX/Shutterstock |
But he used Saturday’s platform to promise the eradication of “evil” radical Islamic terrorism and lambast the “dishonest media” for its reporting of the size of his inauguration crowd. He made no mention of Saturday’s massive protests.
It capped 36 hours that began with Trump’s angry call to arms in a blistering inaugural address, an executive order on healthcare and a much-mocked dance with his wife to Frank Sinatra’s My Way at an inaugural ball.
As the Obama era receded, Washington remained gripped by uncertainty. Trump’s first week in office could lay siege to Obama’s legacy on numerous fronts and set alarm bells ringing in foreign capitals.
When he meets May, trade in the post-Brexit era and the future of Nato, which Trump has questioned, are likely to be high on the agenda.
In Washington on Saturday, organisers of the women’s march in Washington first estimated turnout at half a million, which would have been double the number that marched on the city for civil rights in 1963 and were addressed by Martin Luther King.
Such estimates only increased. Thousands came by bus, train and plane, cramming Washington’s underground Metro to capacity. John Kerry, the former secretary of state, took to the streets along with his dog. Trump’s defeated election opponent, Hillary Clinton, was not present, but tweeted:
Hillary Clinton(@HillaryClinton)Thanks for standing, speaking & marching for our values @womensmarch. Important as ever. I truly believe we're always Stronger Together.January 21, 2017
There were speeches by politicians and activists and performances from artists including Madonna. “The revolution starts here,” the singer said. “The fight for the right to be free, to be who we are, to be equal.
“Let’s march together through this darkness and with each step know that we are not afraid, that we are not alone, that we will not back down, that there is power in our unity and that no opposing force stands a chance in the face of true solidarity.”
Actor and activist America Ferrera spoke about her background as a child of immigrants and argued that Trump was elected on a platform of hate.
“We are gathered here and across the country and around the world today to say: ‘Mr Trump, we refuse,” she said. “ We won’t build walls and we won’t see the worst in each other.”
Feminist Gloria Steinem said: “This is an outpouring of energy and true democracy that I have never seen in my very long life. It is wide in age, it is deep in diversity and remember the constitution does not begin with ‘I the president’, it begins with ‘we the people’.”
Film-maker Michael Moore said: “We’re in day two now of the Trump tragedy. Who wants to be in my next movie? We are here to vow to end the Trump carnage. I want you to call Congress every single day. Every single day.”
Moore called for change in the defeated political opposition to Trump. “We have to take over the Democratic party,” he said.
The scale of the crowd caught even organisers by surprise but thousands pressed ahead with the march while others headed home. There was a steady flow past the White House, where secret service officers stood guard. Pennsylvania Avenue was closed off by steel barriers.
Among the marchers was Kathleen Prugsawan, 52, from Washington. She said: “This is the most peaceful gathering of people unhappy with the current administration. The message that I hope he gets: you better fucking pay attention to us now.”
Women and other groups were demonstrating in Atlanta, Boston, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, Oakland and Seattle. Tens of thousands of New Yorkers marched as close as possible to Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan.
There were protests across the world. Organisers in London said 80,000 had taken part in an event there. In Prague, hundreds gathered in Wenceslas Square, waving portraits of Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin and holding banners that read “This is just the beginning”, “Kindness” and “Love”.
But Trump’s stunning ascent, a repudiation of Democrats and many Republicans, have given succour to rightwing populists abroad. French far-right presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen joined fellow nationalists on Saturday at a conference in Germany, declaring that 2017 will be the “year of the awakening of the people of continental Europe”.
Meanwhile the Department of Justice announced that federal anti-nepotism laws do not prevent Trump from appointing his son-in-law to his administration. It released a memo to the White House counsel, concluding that the president’s “special hiring authority” allowed him to make the appointment.
This cleared the way for Jared Kushner, who is married to Trump’s daughter Ivanka, to take a post as a senior adviser. Kushner became one of Trump’s closest aides during the election campaign and has been an influential figure in the transition.
Oakland march: 'yesterday was dark but today the sun is coming out
Over to the west coast, with Julia Carrie Wong attending the Oakland women’s march:
The atmosphere was festive at the Oakland women’s march, where organizers estimated several tens of thousands of people took to the streets Saturday morning.
“Yesterday may have been a dark day for a lot of people, but today is just about the sun coming out,” said Tracie Noriega, an educator from Union City who marched with her daughter. “It’s hope. You need to find some optimism.”
"Yesterday may have been a dark day, but today is just about the sun coming out." - Tracie Noriega with daughter Tarin #WomensMarchOakland
A city with a strong protest culture, the march drew many first time marchers from around the Bay Area.
Teresa Medina, a first time protester from Pittsburgh, California, marched with a sorority sister from Sigma Lamda Gamma.
Teresa Medina, a first time protester from Pittsburgh, California, marched with a sorority sister from Sigma Lamda Gamma.
"I'm out here just to take a stand against all the hate Trump has been
projecting out" - Teresa Medina #WomensMarchOakland
“I’m out here just to take a stand against all the hate Trump has been projecting out,” Medina said, adding that Trump’s “disrespect for Mexican immigrants” was very upsetting for her, since her mother is Mexican.
“We fought so hard not to be stereotyped,” she said. “To see other people agree with Trump was hurtful.”
Another first time protester, Z Wolt of San Leandro, said she was “disgusted” with Trump.
“He’s diminishing everyone. He’s diminishing American values,” she said.
But the Ethiopian immigrant said that she was thrilled to take part in the Woman’s March.
“I’m so proud,” she said. “I feel very connected to everyone here, like we are all one.”
“We fought so hard not to be stereotyped,” she said. “To see other people agree with Trump was hurtful.”
Another first time protester, Z Wolt of San Leandro, said she was “disgusted” with Trump.
“He’s diminishing everyone. He’s diminishing American values,” she said.
But the Ethiopian immigrant said that she was thrilled to take part in the Woman’s March.
“I’m so proud,” she said. “I feel very connected to everyone here, like we are all one.”
From Guardian US deputy head of news, Paul Owen, taken near the White House at the DC march:
Updated
From the NYC march:
Congressman John Lewis addressed the protest crowd in his home district to raucous cheers of “we love John” and “district five!” (a reference to his congressional district).
He encouraged the crowd to “never quit” “never give up” and to get into “good trouble.”
“I know something about marching” he said at the end of his remarks, then the civil rights legend shook hands as he made his way to the front of the march.
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