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WASHINGTON – Winter weather was enough to force President-elect Donald Trump’s Monday inauguration indoors, but freezing air didn’t stop tens of thousands of Americans from converging at the People’s March in the nation’s capital on Saturday to voice their dissent against what they consider an incoming fascist Trump administration and ineffective action from Democrats.
For Analilia Mejia, Trump’s second election win doesn’t give him a mandate to reshape the nation in his own image.
“The bottom line is that the Constitution, democracy, this nation, it all belongs to the people. Donald Trump is very clearly trying to death-by-a-thousand-paper-cuts our protections,” Mejia told the Black Wall Street Times. Mejia is co-executive director of the Center for Popular Democracy, a coalition of 50 grassroots organizations across 34 states and D.C.
As one of the dozens of speakers Saturday, she urged people not to give into despair over a far-right Republican trifecta in the federal government, and she pressed communities to push their Democratic leaders to fight harder for their rights.
“We are, in fact, fighting for what is at the core and what is acceptable from our government,” Mejia said. ‘We are pulling the Overton window back toward justice, back toward a government that centers people over capital.”
People’s March braves the cold
Saturday’s People’s March and rally on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial was birthed out of the 2017 Women’s March. Yet this year it was opened up to include more marglinazed groups.
Diverse concerns included women’s rights, Trans and LGBTQIA+ rights, the threat Trump poses to U.S. democracy, draconian immigration crackdowns, climate justice, Palestinian liberation and more.
Several media reports, including the BBC and the Associated Press, appeared to paint the march as pointless, powerless and poorly attended. The nearly 20,000 attendees on Saturday didn’t reach the level of 50,000 who marched through D.C. streets in 2017, but unlike Trump, they braved the freezing temperatures to show leadership in a time of uncertainty.
Yet, the passion and resolve to defend multicultural democracy was clearly visible throughout the sea of faces who revived a chant popularized by Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris: “We’re not going back!”
Democrats face the heat during winter rally
Trump and the threat his administration poses to democracy faced the brunt of criticism Saturday as thousands marched from Farragut Square through the bitter cold to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Despite a few minor disturbances from lone Trump supporters heckling the protesters, the march remained peaceful yet defiant.
Toddlers, teens, adults and elderly Americans from across the nation joined together, symbolizing the over 300 similar marches that took place at state capitols from Oklahoma to Ohio on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Democrats weren’t immune from receiving criticism for what many considered weakness and inaction in the face of threats to democracy, racial justice, and income inequality. Some blame Biden for not giving Kamala Harris enough time to run a campaign, while others blame the Democratic Party as a whole for not allowing a full and fair nomination process.
“Right now, the Democratic Party, the liberals, they’re kind of spineless. They’re not willing to actually lead the fight against fascism. So, we as working-class people have to come together and take up the fight against fascism,” said Aaron Booe, a member of the D.C. branch of the Young Communist League.
“I was kind of torn with just Kamala Harris in general siding with liberalistic viewpoints and not doing things that people–especially People of Color backing her–support. But at the same time, it was a letdown because now we have Trump. I’m scared,” said Sydney Thornton, a Political Science senior at Howard University.
When she learned that Snoop Dogg was performing for Trump’s inauguration, she echoed the disappointment and criticism shared by many on social media after the announcement.
“Snoop was just at the Paris Olympics. I thought he was doing a cute little tour. I didn’t think it was going to be to Trump’s inauguration,” Thornton told the Black Wall Street Times.
“Any type of representation further of us supporting Trump, especially when you already have the Black male vote increasing for Trump, is really a letdown,” Thornton said. She plans to work for a nonprofit or NGO when she graduates in the spring.
Fears of Fascism: Activists Sound the Alarm on Trump’s Second Term
Despite the criticism against liberals and Democrats, protesters remained united behind standing against Trump and his incoming administration.
“What we’re dealing with is a fascist movement, exemplified by MAGA, exemplified by Donald Trump and exemplified by their Project 2025 agenda. And so we’re out here today as progressive young people who care about democracy, who care about peace, and who want to build a mass movement for socialism in this country,” Booe said.
Buoyed by both an electoral college and popular vote victory, Trump has signaled going all-in on his plans to upend the U.S. Constitution and go after his opposition.
He’s voiced plans to eliminate birthright citizenship, conduct mass deportations against undocumented immigrants, approve more tax breaks for the rich and install a cabinet of under-qualified, anti-democratic figures and tech billionaires.
His incoming administration raises fears of a fascist takeover of American democracy and a shift toward fascism that could affect other countries around the world.
Trump announced plans to send hundreds of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to conduct mass arrests in Chicago Tuesday, according to a weekend interview with ABC News.
“It will happen,” Trump said. He’s signaled interest in overturning efforts to move away from fossil fuels, making disaster relief aid to California conditional on policy demands, and banning transgender-affirming care.
Trump has also signaled he will greenlight Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to continue his administration’s war in Gaza, despite the International Criminal Court referring to it as a genocide against Palestinians and issued arrest warrants against Netanyahu and other members of his cabinet.
“It’s a lot of issues that, to me, are unacceptable,” Z Gerdes, a D.C. resident, told the Black Wall Street Times at Saturday’s People’s March. “And while I don’t believe the Democrats have necessarily addressed those problems the way that they should, I think we see this new administration is gonna be even worse. And that’s scary.”
The People’s March vs. the Oligarchs
Ben Jealous, the first Black executive director of Sierra Club, said he isn’t afraid to fight back against efforts to limit renewable energy.
“Last time Trump was in office, we beat him hundreds of times in court. We forced his most corrupt nominees to resign, and we even found bipartisan allies to get big pieces of legislation passed,” Jealous told the Black Wall Street Times.
Pointing to Biden’s signature accomplishment, the Inflation Reduction Act, Jealous said the people’s agenda is more popular than either political party or the president.
Others pushed back against Project 2025, a Republican plan to reshape the nation’s laws and institutions toward Christian nationalism. “The message of Christ is about love. It’s not about hate, not about dividing people, not about putting people into categories. It’s about love and welcoming,” said Todd Headinger, holding a sign reading “Christians Against Christian Nationalism.”
As marchers rallied beneath the backdrop of the Lincoln Memorial, the irony of fighting for democracy 140 years after the Civil War lingered in the air. With Trump set to be inaugurated on the birthday of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., his agenda appears set to upend the civil rights leader’s legacy.
For Analilia Mejia of the Center for Popular Democracy, the fight ultimately comes down to taking power back from the oligarchs who’ve gained influence over democracy.
“Folks like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, they’ve captured our government. There’s no other way to describe it when one tweet can undo elected officials’ plans, and we the people have to stop it,” she said.
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