Trump waves to supporters as thousands rally in Washington
President Donald Trump in his motorcade drove by hundreds of his supporters who showed up in Washington on Saturday for demonstrations protesting the outcome of the 2020 election. Trump has refused to concede the election even as his loss in the Electoral College grew this past week.
The president drove by in the motorcade on the way to his private golf club in Sterling, Virginia, and was greeted by applause and cheers. Supporters nearby carried signs reading “Best prez ever” and “Stop the steal.”
Crowds fanned out for several blocks around Freedom Plaza as thousands of supporters filled in, although the crowd was not overwhelming by most measures.
On Twitter, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany offered an exaggerated assessment
of the event, called the Million MAGA March, claiming that 1 million supporters had turned out.
Accounts on the ground suggested that estimate was wildly inflated.
“It’s not like the Fourth of July or anything,” said a police officer stationed near Freedom Plaza at 13th and G streets who declined to
give his name because he was not authorized to speak to the news media. “But yeah, there’s a crowd down there.”
Trump’s brief visit Saturday came after a day after the last two states of the election were called, with President- elect Joe Biden winning Georgia to finish with a total of 306 electoral votes — the same number that Trump won in 2016 and called a landslide — and Trump winning North Carolina, for a total of 232 electoral votes.
In addition to the Million MAGA March, demonstrations of the Trump faithful Saturday in Washington included a Stop the Steal rally and a Women for Trump event.
Suppor ters traveled f rom throughout the country to participate, standing by the president despite his norm-shattering refusal to accept the election results.
By about noon, demonstrators began marching east toward the Capitol, streaming down Pennsylvania Avenue for over an hour, rallying again in the area around the Capitol building and outside the Supreme Court.
“We want Trump to know that we love everything that he did, especially for Hispanic people,” said Anthony Cabassa, 33, who said he flew from Los Angeles, clutching a flag that read “Defiant.”