On January 20, 2025, left-wing groups calling for mass protests against President Donald Trump’s second inauguration found themselves facing a far less enthusiastic turnout than anticipated. Originally expecting upwards of 10,000 protesters to rally against Trump’s return to the White House, the day unfolded with an underwhelming show of “resistance.” What was anticipated to be a day of fierce opposition to the new president’s conservative agenda ended up as a lackluster, cold, and fragmented series of protests—far removed from the chaotic scenes of the 2017 inauguration.
The Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER) Coalition, alongside the People’s Forum, had planned major demonstrations across Washington, D.C. The protests were expected to echo the intense opposition from Trump’s first inauguration, which had sparked violent clashes, arson, and vandalism. This year, however, the DCNF observed a small crowd of a few dozen activists braving the icy temperatures, standing around tables with signs denouncing “fascism” and other radical political demands, such as the abolition of police and prisons.
“Here we are on a day so cold they decided to put the inauguration indoors,” one speaker remarked from the podium, trying to rally the crowd, but the energy was clearly lacking. A pile of unused megaphones, abandoned in the snow, highlighted the underwhelming turnout. Some protesters expressed frustration with the weather more than with the political system they were rallying against.
The protest was a far cry from the large, energized crowds anticipated by law enforcement and organizers, with many of those present appeared cold and disengaged.
In an unexpected twist, a Trump supporter wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh and a Make America Great Again (MAGA) hat stood among the left-wing protesters. The man, identified as Hugh Casey from New York, explained that he was protesting U.S. support for Israel but still aligned with Trump’s broader agenda.
A masked protester paraded through the park holding a mock guillotine, drenched in fake blood, inscribed with the words “come get sum.” This grotesque symbol, which seemed more theatrical than political, drew some attention but did little to galvanize the crowd.
Further away, at Lafayette Square near the White House, another group of protesters, identifying themselves as revolutionary communists, gathered in front of barricades. The crowd, numbering no more than two dozen, held signs depicting Trump in a Ku Klux Klan hood and referred to him as a “bag of feces.”
Yet, the spectacle seemed to lose its bite in the face of a significantly larger presence of Trump supporters who passed by with more energy and, in some cases, mockery. One observer shouted, “No one cares!” in a sing-song tone as the left-wing group chanted.
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If you want to “stop war and end racism”, you would support President Trump.
Trump was labelled “a Hitler” and “a fascist” from the highest pinnacles of the Democrat Party. Yet, where was that self-proclaimed thwarter of fascism, “Antifa” when America supposedly needed them most? What? Was the most fascist of all Americans, Donald J. Trump being inaugurated as President not enough for them to call out their soldiers and protect us? Did Soros’s money suddenly dry up? Were they not aware of Mr. Trump’s inauguration? Were all Antifa’s numbers suddenly newfound conservative Americans? A good guess/explanation might be that the Democrat Party’s back channels didn’t let loose their flying monkeys as they have in the past at far lesser “provocations” because they knew full well that a real government being established on that day, based on real American principles just wouldn’t tolerate them.