January 18th 2025.
As the date of President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration draws near, there have been some changes in how the largest opposition protests will take place. This gives us a glimpse into the evolution of the movement against Trump and the resistance to his policies since 2017. According to The Hill, around 50,000 people are expected to participate in the People's March, a diverse coalition of groups that includes the Women's March. While this number is impressive, it pales in comparison to the 500,000 who attended Trump's last inauguration ceremony.
Tamika Middleton, the managing director of the Women's March, explained to the outlet that there are several factors behind this difference in turnout. "A lot of things are different," Middleton said. "Our focus as organizations this time around has been not just to capture the energy of those who have been activated, but also to prevent people from becoming demobilized. We want to keep them engaged and give them something to hope for."
Keya Chatterjee, co-founder and executive director of Free DC, a group that is using the visibility of the inauguration to launch the People's March, also expressed her perspective on the current state of the movement. "I see even more energy than I've ever seen before," Chatterjee shared with The Hill. "But this time, it's not just about doing the same thing we did in the past. It's about learning from our mistakes and doing better. We know what it takes now, and that is to gather in protest while also building and strengthening our community."
Kelly Dittmar, director of research and a scholar at the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, has analyzed the ways in which women are divided within the movement. This comes as no surprise, given that 53% of white women voted for Trump in 2017, and exit polls from the 2024 election suggested that Black women felt let down by their Asian and Latinx counterparts. "The idea that there is not one single women's movement or set of priorities makes it difficult to mobilize all women as a unified entity," Dittmar stated. "This complexity is evident in the People's March, as well as in the broader organization of women's activism."
Dittmar also acknowledged that many activists and advocates are feeling exhausted. "While there may be some who were mobilized by Trump's election, they may not see this particular march as the most effective way to push back," she added.
This divided vision of how to protest or resist Trump 2.0 is also reflected in the broader Democratic political structure. Some Democrats, such as California Gov. Gavin Newsom, have positioned themselves as a resistance force against Trump, while others, like Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, have signaled a willingness to work with Trump but have also stated that they will break with him when necessary.
According to Democratic pollster Anna Greenberg, the latter position is not a realistic one. "It's a fairly meaningless thing to say because we have no idea what Trump is going to do," Greenberg said. "What we need right now is party unity, especially in the House. And so far, I have seen it."
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