Organizers of the March for Science say the Saturday event isn’t a protest of President Trump, even though his policies will be front and center among the expected throng of scientists in Washington.
The march is expected to focus on the importance of scientifically vetted evidence, organizers said during a call with reporters Wednesday. Being held on Earth Day, it will start near the Washington Monument and end in front of the Capitol.
“It is not just about Donald Trump,” said Rush Holt, a former congressman and CEO of the group American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Holt conceded that “a few” of the signs would have a “direct or indirect reference to Trump, but most of them will be talking about the idea of evidence and the free exchange of ideas.”
But several people on the call criticized Trump’s skinny budget that would cut the National Institutes of Health’s budget by 20 percent next year.
If the budget is approved, “there will be no new grants for young scientists starting out,” said Carol Greider, professor of molecular biology at Johns Hopkins University and a Nobel laureate in medicine.
However, organizers attempted to say that funding problems happened before Trump.
“These worries have been there,” said Lydia Villa-Komaroff, an honorary co-chairwoman of the march.
Organizers were questioned, however, on whether they are making things worse by creating an “us vs. them” backlash among Trump supporters.
“I don’t think we are going to be labeling ourselves as one side or the other,” Greider said. “The Women’s March didn’t necessarily label all women as being on one side or the other.”
However, that march took place one day after Trump’s inauguration, and the millions of participants nationwide were decidedly against Trump and his policies. The march also served as a catalyst for the March for Science, which was announced shortly after the Women’s March.
“The March for Science is not to attack anybody,” said Elias Zerhouni, president of global research and development at drug maker Sanofi. “It is to defend fundamental right or value and drive for humanity and to better advance if you will the well being of humanity.”
Holt also pointed to marches taking places around the world to emphasize that the march in Washington is not just about the president.
