Finding red Trump hats in a sea of pink
WASHINGTON - There were a lot of variations on the "Make America Great Again" hat to be seen at the Women's March in Washington - "Make America Green Again," "Make America Kind Again," "Make America Empathetic Again."
WASHINGTON - There were a lot of variations on the "Make America Great Again" hat to be seen at the Women's March in Washington - "Make America Green Again," "Make America Kind Again," "Make America Empathetic Again."
But there were a few people in the crowd Saturday who were sporting the real deal.
Bill Smith, of Silver Spring, Md., voted for President Trump but said his wife and daughters had split their vote. He came to the Women's March for them, he said, because they couldn't make it to the mall.
Trump's comments about women were "terrible," Smith said, but he voted for the candidate because he felt Trump was "better than Hillary."
"It's a great protest - peaceful," Smith said. "Not too many people like that I'm wearing the hat - they say, 'You're disrespecting women.' "
But he was unperturbed. "I'm outnumbered," he said, laughing.
Two men from New Hampshire who would give only their first names, Scott and Jon, visited the National Archives on Saturday morning and walked through the Women's March crowds to ride the Metro afterward. They had gotten a few "peculiar looks" for their Trump hats, they said. They found themselves impressed by the crowd, and one described the protest as "awesome."
"Are they lost?" a woman behind them asked.
"A peaceful protest is great," Jon said. "I certainly think [Trump has] said a lot of things that are demeaning to certain people, but I voted for him because I didn't like the alternative. I certainly think there are some legitimate issues to protest."
Jon's son was with him and said he had voted for Hillary Clinton. "I'm the Rebel Alliance," he said, laughing. "And they're the Evil Empire."
Farther down Pennsylvania Avenue, Larry Swink and Ron Conway got into a taxi with Swink's son Carter, who is 12. They were angry - they said that they had been called fascists and that protesters told them to leave.
Trump's remarks about women were "nothing compared to the actual actions of Bill Clinton," Swink said.
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