"His presidency began with women marching and poppers and sex videosnow it’s going to end with woman voting. Period."
That was Women's March executive director Rachel O'Leary Carmona speaking on Saturday in Washington, D.C. to kick off a day of protest. It was almost four years ago now, just a day after Donald Trump's Jan. 20, 2017 inauguration, that thousands of protesters converged on D.C. to protest the seating of a president who speaks for less than half the country.
That was the first official Women's March of the Trump era.
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Now, on Oct. 17, 2020 and with just a couple weeks to go before voters (or perhaps the courts) decide whether or not Trump gets a second term, it's the perfect moment for another such rally. There were plenty to go around on Saturday, with protesters gathering in major cities and small towns from coast to coast to publicly voice their dissatisfaction with four years of regression under Trump.
Many of the signs and other protest displays attendees brandished shared a similar theme of supporting women's rights, with a particular pro-abortion focus in the midst of a looming and seemingly assured Supreme Court appointment for Amy Coney Barrett. Trump's pick to replace the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg is viewed by most as an abortion opponent who could be critical to reversing the court's historic Roe v. Wade decision.
WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES - 2020/10/17: Protesters wearing face masks hold placards during the demonstration. Women's March, a feminist organization, planned a rally and marched to bring opposition against President Donald Trump, and his plans to fill the Supreme Court seat left by Ruth Bader Ginsburg with Amy Coney Barrett. Barrett's conservative politics leave many believing she may overturn Roe Wade's decision on abortion rights and may also overturn LGBTQ rights decisions as well. Along with that agenda many participants in the march stood up for Black Lives Matter and voting rights for Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. The march started in Freedom Plaza with a rally and speakers, then marched to the Supreme Court, where speakers continued to talk and was supposed to end on the National Mall. The whole event lasted from 11am to 5pm, and was waylaid by a counter protest by Students for Life, an anti-abortion group, in front of the Supreme Court. (Photo by Stephen Zenner/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) Credit: SOPA Images/LightRocket via Gett 
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 17: The Rebel Handmaid squad protest along with hundreds on many issues including the Trump Administration"u2019s efforts to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and asking people to get out and vote during the Los Angeles Women"u2019s March from Pershing Square to City Hall in Los Angeles on Saturday, October 17, 2020. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images) Credit: MediaNews Group via Getty Images 
MANHATTAN, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES - 2020/10/17: The immense crowd taking the streets at The Women's March protest in NYC. Hundreds of women gathered at Washington Square Park and took to the streets of Manhattan as part of several nationwide coordinated events to denounce Donald Trump's actions to replace a Supreme Court justice ahead of the presidential election. Although the fourth annual Women's March occurred earlier this year, today's event was organized in honor of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. (Photo by Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images) Credit: LightRocket via Getty Images 
MANHATTAN, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES - 2020/10/17: A participant holding a sign at The Women's March protest in NYC. Hundreds of women gathered at Washington Square Park and took to the streets of Manhattan as part of several nationwide coordinated events to denounce Donald Trump's actions to replace a Supreme Court justice ahead of the presidential election. Although the fourth annual Women's March occurred earlier this year, today's event was organized in honor of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. (Photo by Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images) Credit: LightRocket via Getty Images 
MANHATTAN, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES - 2020/10/17: The immense crowd taking to the streets at The Women's March protest in NYC. Hundreds of women gathered at Washington Square Park and took to the streets of Manhattan as part of several nationwide coordinated events to denounce Donald Trump's actions to replace a Supreme Court justice ahead of the presidential election. Although the fourth annual Women's March occurred earlier this year, today's event was organized in honor of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. (Photo by Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images) Credit: LightRocket via Getty Images 
Credit: Jose Luis Magana/AP/Shutterstock Barrett's imminent, norm-shaking SCOTUS appointment wasn't the only topic of the day, however. Rallygoers brought their energy to the streets as they cried foul on the divisive rhetoric from Trump that's torn apart the social fabric of the country for four straight years.
From the Black Lives Matter movement and a growing understanding of systemic racism's insidious influence on U.S. society to the president's persistent misogyny and the history of misconduct allegations he faces, protesters weren't about to let Trump off the hook for anything.
WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 17: People rally during the #CountonUs March Women's Voter Rally on October 17, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images) Credit: Paul Morigi/Getty Images 
Demonstrators gather to take part in the nationwide Women's March on October 17, 2020, at Freedom Plaza in Washington, DC. (Photo by Daniel SLIM / AFP) (Photo by DANIEL SLIM/AFP via Getty Images) Credit: DANIEL SLIM/AFP via Getty Images 
Thousands of women joined for Women's March to protest Trump's policy against women's at Boston, MA, 17 October 2020. (Photo by Anik Rahman/NurPhoto via Getty Images) Credit: Anik Rahman/NurPhoto via Getty Images 
MANHATTAN, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES - 2020/10/17: A participant holding a sign at The Women's March protest in NYC. Hundreds of women gathered at Washington Square Park and took to the streets of Manhattan as part of several nationwide coordinated events to denounce Donald Trump's actions to replace a Supreme Court justice ahead of the presidential election. Although the fourth annual Women's March occurred earlier this year, today's event was organized in honor of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. (Photo by Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images) Credit: Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images It was a powerful show of unity in the midst of a historic and potentially transformative election. Here's hoping that energy transforms into the kind of voter turnout that can sweep out the trash that's accumulated in D.C. these past four years. Please do your part and vote before or by Election Day on Nov. 3.
MANHATTAN, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES - 2020/10/17: (Editors note: Image contains profanity) A participant holding a sign at The Women's March protest in NYC. Hundreds of women gathered at Washington Square Park and took to the streets of Manhattan as part of several nationwide coordinated events to denounce Donald Trump's actions to replace a Supreme Court justice ahead of the presidential election. Although the fourth annual Women's March occurred earlier this year, today's event was organized in honor of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. (Photo by Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images) Credit: Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images Topics Activism Social Good Politics