Implications Of The Women’s March On Trump’s Presidency

On January 21, 2017, women, men, children, Muslims, African Americans, LGBT, and other minorities took to the streets of Washington, as well as across the world, to protest the newly elected U.S. President Donald J. Trump. The mission of the march was to spread awareness and stand together against Trump’s rhetoric prior to the elections, which promoted violence and division. The march was meant to be a peaceful protest with support received from all over the democratic nation. Trump’s rhetoric prior to his election touched on the dividing of communities and classifying people based on their religious, ethnic, and sexual orientation. Rather than bringing the nation together as one, he painted an image of hate and violence and made it the main discourse of his political campaign. The 2017 Women’s March defied those expectations and was meant to show Trump that, together, a nation can and should stand as one.

President Trump’s response to the protest was through a Twitter post, in which he stated: “Peaceful protests are a hallmark of our democracy. Even if I don’t always agree, I recognize the rights of people to express their views.” Rather than making a public announcement and reaching out to the contributors of the march, he took to Twitter to express his thoughts on the matter. As the leader of the free world, it is important for the President of the United States to make a public announcement in a professional and peaceful manner, rather than taking to social media to speak about the issue at hand, much like his predecessors. Nevertheless, there was over 2.5 million Americans that marched the streets of Washington, and millions more marched all over the world, such as from Toronto to Paris, and as far as Australia.

With that said, what started off as a peaceful protest has turned into a movement, one that can be considered Trump’s first challenge in office. The Women’s March represented more than just signs and chants, but a shift in the way U.S. citizens want their country to be run. It was a sign to the world and Trump that a democratic country is run by its citizens and not its leaders.

As the leader of the free world, Donald Trump needs to stand up and face his challenges as a President, as opposed to using social media to brush issues off. The protesters and American citizens need to be confident in their leader. While the election was a fair and democratic process, the lack of confidence in the United States can affect Trump’s Presidency in the upcoming years. As well, this lack of confidence can translate into how foreign governments will view the American president if he does not address the protesters and listen to their concerns.

If the U.S. President cannot democratically address his nation in a peaceful manner, then how can other leaders take in the same example and join the democratic world? This is what America has stood for since George Washington, and President Trump needs to listen to his constituency if he wants to take on the position of the leader of the free world. It is not an easy shoe to fill, and with no political background, Trump has his work cut out for him over the next four years.

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