WASHINGTON — On the one-year anniversary of the Women's March that swelled cities worldwide, activists reconvened Saturday in the nation's capital and around the country with new determination to flex their power in the voting booth and on the ballot.
The gathering comes on the anniversary of the inauguration of President Trump, whose election in many ways gave the movement its first impetus.
As a sign of the power struggle looming in 2018 between Republicans and Democrats, the march in Washington is playing out against the backdrop of a government shutdown.
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In a tweet, Trump cast the march as a celebration of the economy, saying the nation's spurt of good weather was "a perfect day for all Women to March." He called on women to "get out there now to celebrate" unprecedented economic success and low female unemployment.
Hundreds of local rallies, in cities and towns, were held Saturday across the country, including Oklahoma City, Logan, Utah, Asheville, N.C., Chicago, Seattle, Dallas, Los Angeles and Houston, as well as in Beijing, Buenos Aires, Nairobi and Rome, under the banner of the #WeekendofWomen on social media. Other large events were planned for Sunday.
In Washington, D.C., the rally began at the reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial in brisk, 50-degree weather under clear skies.
They turned up with a forest of creative signs, ranging from the humorous to the vulgar. One said simply: "Grab Him by the Mid-terms." Others expressed support for health care, immigration and reproductive rights.
More: Is the Women's March more inclusive this year?
Even organizers were not expecting the huge crowds that swarmed the capital, and other cities, in 2017 in the wake of Trump's election. The rally was sponsored by the Virginia chapter of the Women’s March.
Organizers said the goal was to solidify the movement and use that clout in 2018 elections. In Virginia's statewide races last year, women turned out in huge numbers at the polls and on the ballots as Democrats made expected gains in state legislative races.
"The unifying theme of the movement is: When we vote, we win," movement organizers in Virginia said on their website. "When we stay engaged, we win. When we support each other, we win!"
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Judy McLean, 73, of Bethesda, Md., who came to the march last year was not surprised — or disappointed — the turnout in Washington was much smaller this time. "The big march was here last year,” she said. “Now it’s more diffuse.”
As she spoke, McLean held a sign that read “Norwegian Americans for DACA,” a reference to Trump’s remark last week that he’d rather have immigrants from Norway than Africa and some Latin American countries.
The retired speech language pathologist said this year’s gathering was more subdued with a sense of resolution replacing last year’s anger.
“Last year, I was more disgusted and more angry,” she said. "This time, it’s just more of a community of like-minded people.”
Earlier Saturday, dozens of activists gathered in Rome to denounce violence against women and express support for the #MeToo movement. They were joined by Italian actress and director Asia Argento, who made headlines after alleging in 2017 she had been sexually assaulted by Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein in the 1990s.
•In New York City, where organizers were expecting tens of thousands of demonstrators, the scheduled speakers included Ashley Bennett, a Democrat who was elected Atlantic County, N.J., freeholder last November.
Bennett defeated Republican incumbent John Carman, who had mocked the 2017 Women’s March in Washington, D.C., with a Facebook post asking whether the women would be home in time to cook dinner.
Foot traffic on 71st street was at a standstill, as thousands of marchers made their way toward Central Park West. The iconic pink knit “pussy hats” were resurgent, along with biting signs assailing the president and decrying hate. Posters were seen declaring "Times Up" and "Trump is a s---hole president."
Brianna Gallina, 22, from Holtsville, N.Y., attended the NYC march, organized by the Women’s March Alliance, with her younger sister. Gallina said her schedule didn’t allow her to march last year, but this year she vowed not to miss it.
Before she left for her train into the city, her father, who voted for Trump, asked her why it was so important she march.
“It’s because I want equality. That’s what this is about,” she said. “This isn’t about women or fascism or whatever else you want to blow this into. This is about equality.”
•In Denver, tens of thousands of women and their families crammed into Civic Center Park for a rally and march, taking advantage of unseasonably warm temperatures.
Many attendees said this year’s seemed at least as big as last year’s rally, which drew an estimated 100,000 people.
“Last year, I was angry,” said Anya Chavez, 14, who came from nearby Boulder with her younger sister and parents. “Today I’m feeling empowered, feeling really good. I feel good because I’m making a difference.”
Betsy Kidnay, 56, carried a sign declaring that “women are the wall,” and said she’s concerned about what she called the Trump administration’s attacks on the environment.
“Hopefully we are going to stop Trump,” said Kidnay, of Wheat Ridge, Colo. “His disregard for women is what’s going to sweep Republicans out of power.”
•In Leonia, N.J., rallygoers included Kristy Bortnik, who became a citizen shortly before the 2016 election and was able to vote then for the first time. She felt “devastated” at that time.
“I spent many years not having a voice so to see all the craziness and just sit back and not do anything didn’t seem right,” Bortnik said.
•In Palm Bech, Fla., several hundred people carried anti-Trump signs as they prepared to march near the president’s Mar-a-Lago home on Florida’s east coast.
•In Zurich, the pink, crocheted "pussy hats" that dominated last year's marches, even put in an appearance among a group of 20, mostly expatriate Americans, who gathered on the fashionable Bahnhofstrasse shopping street with posters and leaflets.
Alexandra Dufresne, a lawyer from New Haven, Conn., now living in Zurich, helped organize a Swiss-American political action group after last year’s march aimed at protecting Swiss and American shared values.
•In Las Vegas, the Power to the Polls rally Sunday will kick off an effort to register 1 million voters and target swing states in the midterm elections.
“We made a lot of noise,” said Elaine Wynn, an organizer last January. “But now how do we translate that noise into something concrete or fulfilling?”
Linda Sarsour, one of the four organizers of last year’s Washington march, said Las Vegas was picked for a major rally because it is a swing state with one of the most competitive Senate races in 2018.
Last year’s march in Washington sparked debate over inclusion, with some transgender minority women complaining that the event seemed designed for white women born female. Some anti-abortion activists said the event did not welcome them.
The organizers for the Sunday rally are striving for greater inclusion this year, with Latina and transgender female speakers, said Carmen Perez, another co-chair of the 2017 Washington march. Women in the U.S. illegally, sex workers and those formerly incarcerated are welcome, she said.
Contributing: Doug Stanglin in McLean, Va.; Donna Leinwand in Zurich; Alia Dastagir in New York; Trevor Hughes in Denver.