WASHINGTON, DC – FOLLOWING the recent election of Donald Trump as the next President of the United States, concerns have been raised by several groups that his administration may pursue critical campaign promises affecting women's rights, immigration, and other significant issues.
Some of these proposed changes are part of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, a plan aimed at restructuring the government to alter citizen rights and responsibilities, including areas such as taxation and welfare.
On Saturday (Nov. 9) Women’s March activists gathered outside the Heritage Foundation—a conservative think tank in Washington, DC—to protest policies that could impact abortion rights, an issue central to women and featured prominently on ballots across multiple states.
Speaking with SKNVibes News at the protest, Tamika Middleton, Managing Director of Women’s March, explained that the march was intended to send a strong message to the incoming Trump administration about the importance of respecting women’s rights.
“We're giving folks a place to be together in light of the rawness and the emotion that folks are feeling," Middleton said. "But we also a place for them to hope together, for people to find each other and be in community with each other, but also to stand up and say, actually, we don't give you a mandate to take actions like Project 2025, we don't give you a mandate to repress our community members, and we will actually continue to stand up and continue to fight.”
The election results left many across the United States in shock, as President-elect Trump won several critical battleground states, securing his path to the White House. This outcome has raised concerns due to Trump’s pledge to enact legislation that could shift significant decision-making power to individual states, impacting federal policies.
“We definitely know that Trump will take actions and will take actions along the lines of the agenda of Project 2025. We also know that our people will be out and will be resisting on the policy level, on the legal level, so in the courts, in the legislatures, and in the streets, we will be always, everywhere resisting," MIddleton said.
When discussing the movement’s broader message, Middleton noted that there is always work to do to expand their outreach.
“There's always folks who we need to be, to take more action, to get in, to bring into our space, and so we'll be doing that. That's the work that we are up to in this movement now," she said.
Despite the disappointment among Democrats, many believe women’s rights and other critical policies will still find support, especially after the results from several ballton measures. “What we're hearing, one, is that people are actually really proud that we were able to win in so many states on abortion access. Disappointed at the way that the election went in Florida," Middleton observed.
"However, I am still proud that over 50% of Floridians came out to vote in support of abortion access. So, I think that the feedback that we're receiving is that women's issues still win. We just need to be able to translate that and connect that up and down the ballot," she added.
The Women’s March plans additional protests across the country and in Washington, DC, leading up to the inauguration. They have already applied for a permit to hold a large gathering with approximately 50,000 participants two days before the inauguration, aiming to send a powerful message to the incoming administration.
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