The Climate March Turnout Was Bigger Than Even Organizers Expected

To acknowledge the 100-day mark of his fledgling administration, President Donald Trump made the rounds this week of major news outlets to highlight his achievements. Mostly, it was a lot of whining, denial, and exaggeration.

In an interview with Reuters published Friday, Trump grumbled that being president was like living in his “own little cocoon” because of his 24-hour security detail. If Trump bothered to gaze out his window on Saturday, he would have seen a White House encircled by peaceful pro-environment protesters (and celebrities) angry by his administration’s anti-environmental policies. He would have realized that his little, tormented cocoon is growing smaller by the week.

For two straight weekends, hundreds of thousands of demonstrators descended on the nation’s capital to stand up for science, demand action on climate change, and protect the earth’s vital ecosystems. Given last week’s March for Science, it was unclear how many people would show up on a sweltering Saturday this weekend for the People’s Climate March.

Organizers had secured a permit from the National Park Service for 100,000 people, but actual turnout far exceeded that, falling somewhere between 150,000–200,000, with the march extending for at least 20 blocks. A bird’s-eye video shows participants making their way through Washington in a gathering that appears to dwarf Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration crowd size just 100 days ago:

In addition to the Washington, D.C. march, some 375 cities across the country held parallel rallies, from rainy Chicago:

To snowy and cold Denver:

There were young people:

Wise people:

And no shortage of witty wordsmiths:

Signs demonized climate-denying administration officials:

People danced around a giant Earth circle:

And “flooded” Trump’s D.C. hotel to symbolize rising sea levels:

Despite the dire circumstances surrounding the event, people looked genuinely happy, upbeat, and determined, while Trump appears as if he’s wearing down, cranky, and bitter. If this is how the first 100 days of Trump’s administration ended, what remains in store for the next 100 is anyone’s guess.