Approximately one million people will descend on Washington, D.C., during the week of President-elect Trump’s inauguration, but perhaps one-fifth of those visitors will not be in town to celebrate the Republican politician.
Organizers of the Women’s March told the National Parks Service they are expecting 200,000 people at their Jan. 21 march, according to a list of First Amendment event applications. The group’s Facebook page states 244,000 people are interested in attending the D.C. event, while 164,000 have pledged to attend.
The march originated as a way to “come together in solidarity to express to the new administration and Congress that women’s rights are human rights and our power cannot be ignored,” according to a statement from a Parks Service spokesman.
The demonstration is scheduled for 10 a.m. EST the day after Trump is sworn into office. It will commence at the Lincoln Memorial and end at the White House.
Trump’s supporters were deemed the “silent majority” prior to the election, but the surprise win seemed to solidify the idea that those who voted for him had been afraid to publicly state their affiliation. Washington may see more visitors than currently expected if Trump’s silent majority shows up in that same unexpected fashion.
But surpassing President Obama’s attendance numbers from 2009 will prove difficult for Trump. The then-first-term Democratic president had 1.8 million supporters at his inauguration, about double what the Republican leader is expected to have in two weeks.
