In Washington, women march against Trump as election looms

US POLITICS

Thousands of women marched through Washington on Saturday at a now-annual event opposing US President Donald Trump, striking a defiant note despite falling attendance numbers.

Many protesters said they were horrified at the prospect of Trump's winning four more years of power in November's presidential election.

In 2017, the day after Trump's inauguration, more than three million people gathered nationwide, but numbers have since declined each year.

A few thousand protesters gathered in Washington on Saturday, with other small events in New York and elsewhere.

Kim Elliott, a 40-year-old Washington resident, carried a placard reading, "I am even more outraged than I was three years ago."

"We all knew that Trump was going to be horrible, and he has been even more horrible than we realise," she told AFP, standing next to her seven-year-old daughter who was participating enthusiastically in her first women's march.

They gathered despite freezing temperatures and light snowflakes. Many in the crowd wore pink hats in a symbol opposing Trump's demeaning comments about women.

Among the placards were signs reading: "I've seen smarter cabinets at IKEA," and "A woman's place is in the House... and in the Senate."

From the stage, organizers hailed the protesters for their "commitment, zeal, sass and tenacity" to fight on against Trump.

Lauren Sloniger, a 26-year-old from suburban Washington, used the ironic generational put-down "OK Boomer" on her sign in a reply to Trump's claims that he did "nothing wrong" in the case that has led to his Senate impeachment trial.

She said her message to Trump was, "We see what you did. We are going to call you out on this."