{"id":287035,"date":"2017-01-21T16:08:49","date_gmt":"2017-01-21T16:08:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=287035"},"modified":"2017-01-21T16:08:49","modified_gmt":"2017-01-21T16:08:49","slug":"donald-trump-protests-washington-leads-global-rallies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/01\/donald-trump-protests-washington-leads-global-rallies\/","title":{"rendered":"Donald Trump protests: Washington leads global rallies"},"content":{"rendered":"
Hundreds of thousands are gathering for a “Women’s March on Washington”, part of a global day of protests against new US President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
The rally is one of more than 600 expected worldwide on the president’s first full day in office.<\/p>\n
The aim is to highlight women’s rights, which protesters believe to be under threat from the new administration.<\/p>\n
Mr Trump has taken his first steps, signing an executive order targeting his predecessor’s health care scheme.<\/p>\n
On Saturday morning, protesters swarmed streets and metro stations in the US capital, heading for the National Mall, where speeches have started ahead of an afternoon march to the White House.<\/p>\n
Organisers had originally sought a permit for 200,000 people but say they now expect as many as half a million, possibly dwarfing Friday’s inauguration crowd, the Washington Post reported.<\/p>\n
Celebrities such as Katy Perry, Scarlett Johansson, Amy Schumer, Ugly Betty star America Ferrera, Patricia Arquette and Michael Moore are expected to attend.<\/p>\n
But there will be other protests in some 300 cities across the US, from New York to Seattle.<\/p>\n
California participant Jessica Vroman posted an image of a flight to Washington packed with women. “This is what hope looks like people!” she wrote.<\/p>\n
Many women have knitted pink “pussy hats” – a reference to a recording that emerged during the election campaign on which Mr Trump talked about groping women.<\/p>\n
Placards in Washington read: “Women won’t back down” and “Less fear more love”.<\/p>\n
Organisers of the Washington march said in a statement: “The rhetoric of the past election cycle has insulted, demonised, and threatened many of us.<\/p>\n
“The women’s march on Washington will send a bold message to our new government on their first day in office, and to the world that women’s rights are human rights.”<\/p>\n