Signs of Solidarity
Photoessay: Thousands gather at the Trump International Hotel to protest the incoming President
According to reports, some 20 to 25,000 New Yorkers gathered near the Trump International Hotel and Tower to rally against the incoming President, who will be sworn in at noon on January 20th, 2017.
Many of the protestors bore signs declaring their specific critiques of the President elect—often directly reflecting Trump’s remarks and his specific policies.
Several Trump supporters also gathered near the hotel to show their support if the incoming President.
One man in a Make America Great Again cap repeatedly exclaimed that unless you don’t live in the United States, Donald Trump is your President.
Several others stood by with provocative signs declaring, “You Lost,” “Build the Wall,” and “USA for Trump.”
Meanwhile, the hotel itself stood silent and alone. Via barriers and police employees, the NYPD effectively preventing any of the protestors from milling about in its immediate vicinity.
In addition to the police, sanitation trucks filled with sand were parked at the entrance to Central Park West, ostensibly to prevent any traffic from barreling through the area.
Although police encouraged attendees to keep moving up Broadway to 67th street, many protesters lingered near the Columbus Circle subway station with their signs.
Some of them more conspiratorial.
Some of them more confrontational.
As you approached the rally itself, the signs become more varied and though many remained confrontational and direct in their criticism, many also proved more poignant reflecting individual’s personal fears of a Trump Presidency.
The many thousands of attendees winded their way onto Central Park West and streamed back down towards the Trump International Hotel and Tower. There speakers at the rally included Michael Moore, Rosie Perez, Mark Ruffalo, Cynthia Nixon and several other local politicians and activists.
Back at Columbus Circle and many protestors still circulated with their signs. Many of them here highlighting Trump’s seeming admiration for Vladimir Putin and his alleged impact on the election.
Some enterprising individual also set up a booth featuring “The All-Seeing Trump”—a 2017 take on similar sideshow-like machines which feature prophets will to dispense advice for the future in exchange for your greenbacks. Only this robotic fortune-teller features eye, which grow an unsettling red as he dispenses his wisdom.
Finally, before heading down to the subway, an exhortation appears: “Fight back.”
All photos and text by Robert A Stribley
