Trump Inauguration 2017 Live Blog Day 2: Women march across the country
Even before Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States on Jan. 20, protests had already begun across the globe from Mexico, the UK and across Europe's capitols, despite former president Barack Obama's insistence that this would be a "peaceful transfer of power." Protests in Washington, D.C., were slated to begin on Jan. 21, but many started early, with hundreds blockading entrances leading to the inauguration. On Friday, protesters were met by flash bombs and pepper spray. More than 200 people were arrested on inauguration day. The Women's March on Washington includes "sister marches" in more than 75 countries around the world.
A live stream for the Women's March on Washington rally is available here. Officials estimate over 500,000 attendees, and Mic is keeping tabs on the numbers. Speakers at the Women's March rally include Gloria Steinem, Angela Davis and Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
Mic's reporters are on the ground in Washington, D.C., throughout inauguration weekend. Check back throughout the day to see updates.
All times are Eastern.
Saturday, Jan. 21
5:35 p.m.: That's it for the inauguration liveblog. Subscribe to our newsletter, Navigating Trump's America, for daily coverage of the new era.
5:30 p.m.: The Women's March estimates almost 3.5 million protesters around the world.
The Women's March official protest tracker estimates almost 3.5 million protesters are joined in 674 protests around the globe on all seven continents, including Antarctica. USA Today released conservative updates showing an estimated 1.5 million protesters around the globe.
In Los Angeles, organizers estimate 750,000 attendees at protests throughout the city, which boasts a population of just over 4 million. Totals are expected to rise as more protesters show up and firmer numbers are reported across the country and around the world.
4:39 p.m.: The White House is setting up a news briefing to discuss Trump's inauguration crowd sizes.
In a meeting at CIA headquarters earlier today, Trump wrongly said his inaugural crowds "went all the way back to the Washington Monument, despite turnout estimates and photographic evidence debunking that claim.
The 500,000-plus turnout for the Women's March in Washington, D.C. as well as thousands of marches across the country and around the world could be causing the Trump administration to get defensive about the inauguration's low numbers.
4:00 p.m.: The Women's March in Alaska is still going strong, despite poor weather.
3:50 p.m.: Police push aside Women's March protesters in Washington to let the "Trump Unity Bridge" pass.
The bridge, designed by Rob Cortis of Michigan, features a Statue of Liberty, Donald Trump cut-out, and signs such as "Drain the Swamp," "Make America Great Again" and "Flag Nation God." The bridge, seen here, is towed by a Chevy Suburban and is covered and both American and "Make America Great Again" flags.
3:22 p.m.: Ignoring protests, President Donald Trump stops by CIA headquarters
President Trump tells the audience, "There is nobody who feels stronger about the intelligence community and the CIA than Donald Trump."
3:00 p.m.: Madonna drops the F-bomb on live TV.
Madonna isn't mincing words in Washington.
"To our detractors that insist that this march will never add up to anything," she begins, "Fuck you."
2:38 p.m.: Protests around the country are surging.
The Women's March in Miami reached capacity and has had to begin turning crowds away.
Meanwhile in Los Angeles, trains that are normally left mostly empty are so backed up that protesters have started an impromptu protest at Universal Studios.
2:30 p.m.: The Women's March announces it has begun marching in Washington, speakers and performers still being introduced.
Rabbi Sharon Brous speaks to the crowd on love and unity: "We stand against the moral bankruptcy that threatens our democracy."
2:22 p.m.: The Women's March on Washington will go down Constitution Avenue. Trains at L'Enfant Plaza have begun running again.
2:21 p.m.: Women's March begins in Boston.
2:20 p.m.: Angela Davis expresses support for Standing Rock protesters, Fight For 15 and Black Lives Matter.
"The white male hetero-patriarchy better watch out," Davis tells the crowd.
2:04 p.m.: In Washington, Janelle Monáe says that "women birthed this nation, and we can unbirth a nation, if we choose":
"You are enough. And whenever you feel in doubt, whenever you want to give up, you must always remember to choose freedom over fear. I come here, again, as an American and as a woman, not as an artist. When I go home I have the same concerns. when I see bullies trying to bully you, just know that I am upset about it and it does not go unnoticed. The things that are happening in Washington to even other Americans, abusing their powers, will be hidden no more. Women will be hidden no more. We will not remain hidden figures. We have names. We are complete human beings. And they cannot police us, so get off our areolas. Get off our vaginas. Again: we birthed this nation, and we can unbirth a nation, if we choose. We can stop completely, if we choose."
Monáe and Jidenna then lead a chant of "Say her name!" before going into the song "Hell You Talmbout" in honor of black people killed by police, including Sandra Bland and Natasha McKenna.
2:01 p.m.: In Washington, Alicia Keys delivered a powerful speech, quoting Maya Angelou and singing for the crowd.
1:47 p.m.: Protesters gather across the country, from Kentucky to Nevada, deflating the concept that only coastal elites oppose Trump.
1:30 p.m.: Crowds at the Women's March in Washington, D.C. are too huge
AP reports that there are so many attendees at the Women's March in Washington, D.C., organizers are unable to lead a "formal march" toward the White House.
1:08 p.m.: Actress Scarlett Johansson is speaking at the Women's March in D.C., about the importance of supporting Planned Parenthood.
12:56 p.m.: Hamilton creator Lin Manuel Miranda is marching with participants at the Women's March in London.
12:37 p.m.: Senator Kamala Harris is speaking at the Washington rally, touching on intersectionality — and pointing out that the economy, immigration reform and student debt are all "women's issues" too.
12:36 p.m.: Photos from the Women's March in Denver, Colorado, also show a huge turnout.
12:31 p.m.: Things are gearing up on the West Coast as demonstrators begin to gather for the Los Angeles sister march.
12:27 p.m.: Former Secretary of State John Kerry is spotted walking at the march in Washington with his dog in tow.
12:12 p.m.: CNN has a helicopter livestreaming massive crowds in Chicago, Illinois.
11:49 a.m.: Elizabeth Warren speaks in Boston
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is speaking in Boston at a Women's March sister rally.
11:44 a.m.: Ashley Judd speaks to the crowd in Washington, D.C.
Actress Ashley Judd interrupts Michael Moore speaking to the crowd, introducing herself with "Michael, my name is Ashley Judd, and I am a feminist."
But I'm not as nasty as a man who looks like he bathes in Cheeto dust," Judd told the crowd. "Not as nasty as a swastika painted on a pride flag."
11:10 a.m.: Flint residents arrive in Washington, D.C.
Residents of Flint, Michigan, arrived in Washington to urge Trump's administration to address Flint's ongoing water crisis.
11:01 a.m.: Officials estimate there are currently 500,000 attendees at the Women's March, more than twice as many as expected.
10:47 a.m.: Gloria Steinem speaks at the rally.
"Thank you for understanding that sometimes, we must put our bodies where our beliefs are. Sometimes, pressing 'send' is not enough," Steinem begins her speech.
"I've been thinking of the uses of a long life," Steinem tells the crowd, "and one of the things is we remember when things were worse." Steinem discusses how the deaths of leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy made it seem like "the death of the future," but that leaders like Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders keep hope alive.
"This is the upside of the downside," Steinem remarks on the march, "It is wide in age, it is deep in diversity, and remember: the Constitution doesn't begin with 'I, the president.' It begins with 'We the people.'"
10:20 a.m.: Hillary Clinton tweets her support of the Women's March.
10:15 a.m.: America Ferrera takes the stage at the Women's March rally.
"The president is not America. We are America ... We are gathered across the country and around the world to say: Mr. Trump, we refuse. We reject the demonization of our Muslim brothers and sisters. We demand an end to the systemic murder and incarceration of our black brothers and sisters. We will not give up our right to safe and legal abortions. We will not ask our LGBTQ families to go backwards. We will not go from being a nation of immigrants to a nation of ignorance."
10:13 a.m.: Charlie Brotman, who has been announcing inaugurations since Eisenhower and was fired by the Trump team, speaks at the Women's March.
He noted that the rally's crowds were "much larger" than the ones at the inauguration.
10:02 a.m.: Ahead of the Women's March, activist organization Indigenous Women Rise sings a warrior song and performs a round dance.
9:56 a.m.: Women's March attendees have begun to arrive in downtown Washington, D.C.
A rally hosted by the Women's March organizers kicks off at 10 a.m. and features a program of speakers and performers. The rally is scheduled to end at 1:15 p.m., when the Women's March will officially begin. The rally is between 3rd and 4th streets on Independence Avenue facing NW.
9:44 a.m.: Women's March attendees are seeing huge waits in metro stations in the greater Washington, D.C. area headed toward downtown Washington.
That's it for the inauguration liveblog. Subscribe to our newsletter, Navigating Trump's America, for daily coverage of the new era.
