Thousands of protestors took to the streets in cities across the United States Wednesday to voice their anger, frustration and dismay about President-Elect Donald Trump’s triumphant bid for the White House the night before.
Holding signs declaring “Disband The Electoral College” and “Liberty And Freedom From Hate – No Trump,” among countless other messages, and shouting chants such as “Donald Trump, go away, racist, sexist, anti-gay!” to “Not My President!” mass demonstrations erupted in New York City, Oakland, San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle, Boston, Washington, D.C., and others, continuing into Thursday morning.
News and photos of the protests flooded social media, which also became a outlet for users’ collective outrage, with #NotMyPresident a popular Twitter hashtag.
In New York, thousands gathered in Union Square before marching 40 blocks uptown and converging again outside Trump Tower, the president-elect’s home. Police set up barricades along Fifth Avenue and formed a protective perimeter around the building with a line of sanitation trucks, reportedly at the request of the Secret Service.
Demonstrators also rallied outside Trump Towers in Chicago, in front of the White House, and burned an effigy of the billionaire in downtown Los Angeles.
Police arrested dozens at several gatherings across the country, including more than 60 demonstrators in New York.
Trump won his bid for the presidency following an often vitriolic campaign against Hillary Rodham Clinton, the former U.S. Secretary of State, First Lady, and U.S. Senator from New York, claiming perhaps the largest upset in American political history just before 3 a.m. Wednesday morning following a congratulatory phone call from Clinton.
“Now it is time for America to bind the wounds of division,” he told supporters afterwards at his campaign headquarters at the Midtown Hilton in Manhattan. “I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be president for all Americans, and this is so important to me.”
In an emotional public appearance Wednesday afternoon, Clinton, who won the popular vote but fell short in the electoral vote after Trump surged in several battleground states, conceded to Trump, thanking supporters and calling for national unity.
“We must accept this result and look to the future,” she said. “Donald Trump is going to be our president. We owe him an open mind and a chance to lead.”
Main Art: Protestors demonstrate against Donald Trump winning the presidential election in Seattle. (Photo: Occupy Seattle official Facebook profile)
