On International Women’s Day, thousands in the US gather to oppose Trump

NEW YORK - From Boston to Los Angeles, thousands of people rallied on March 8 in the United States to protest the presidency of Donald Trump, including his handling of the war in Ukraine, his stance on reproductive rights and the firing of federal workers.

About 300 protests, organised to commemorate International Women’s Day, were scheduled around the country.

Some, like the one at Washington Square Park in Manhattan, attracted at least a few thousand demonstrators. Others in smaller cities – including Richmond, Virginia; Sarasota, Florida; and Port Angeles, Washington – drew more scattered interest. One in Madison, Wisconsin, drew more than 120 people.

In New York City, protesters expressed outrage at Mr Trump’s treatment of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, restrictions on transgender rights, and what they see as the tearing apart of the nation’s democracy.

Ms Nancy Lewis, 80, attended civil rights demonstrations in Selma, Alabama, as a teenager. Ms Lauren Yoo, 26, had rarely protested before. Both were eager to join the crowd.

“A lot of women are feeling like they are going back in time, so I feel like it’s good to come out here and voice our concerns, and stand with all women,” Ms Yoo said.

International Women’s Day is not as widely celebrated in the US as it is in other countries. But organisers said Americans eager to protest considered the occasion an appropriate time to rally.

Women’s groups had taken the lead in coordinating the major protest that greeted Mr Trump’s first inauguration eight years ago, called the Women’s March. Millions of Americans joined that 2017 protest, the largest single-day public demonstration in US history.

Mr Trump’s second inauguration faced a much more muted response, reflecting a shift in tactics and perhaps a more uncertain opposition.

The recent blitz of funding freezes, firings, executive orders and more has left many Americans looking for opportunities to demonstrate, said Ms Rachel O’Leary Carmona, executive director of Women’s March, which organised the March 8 rallies. The group was formed by some organisers of the 2017 march.

Participants in different communities focused on different concerns, such as the firings at the National Park Service or restrictions on abortion.

“What people are concerned about is everything, because there’s no aspect of these attacks that doesn’t touch everybody,” Ms O’Leary Carmona said.

In Madison, some attendees carried signs supporting Ms Susan Crawford, a liberal candidate for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, who supports abortion rights. One attendee, Ms Lynn McMahon, a 32-year-old engineer, said the state Supreme Court race is connected to a broader attack on women.

“Just sitting around on your couch and ‘slacktivism’ isn’t going to help, but coming out, talking to people, talking to your friends is what makes a difference,” she said.

Some of the March 8 attendees had turned out for other recent protest events, such as the demonstrations at national parks last weekend and the Stand Up for Science rallies on March 7.

For Ms Ricki Sajbel, a 67-year-old former stay-at-home mother and a member of a group called the Raging Grannies of Madison, the March 8 rally capped a busy stretch of activism.

“It is my fourth protest in a week,” she said. NYTIMES