AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, “War, Peace and the Presidency.” I’m Amy Goodman.

Ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration today, thousands marched in protests across the United States Saturday. Democracy Now!'s team, we were in Washington, D.C., when thousands came out to join the People's March.

PROTESTERS: We won’t go back! We won’t go back! We won’t go back! We won’t go back! We won’t go back!

AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now! I’m Amy Goodman. We’re at the People’s March in Washington, D.C., two days before the inauguration of Donald Trump. People are carrying banners that say, “We will not be silent,” “Together we can, together we will,” “Your power, our power, people power.” There are many people. One person was holding a sign that said ”MAGA: Morons Are Governing America.” And there are many other issues. The people are talking about women’s rights, trans rights, LGBTQ rights, talking about the rights of Palestinians, D.C. statehood and much more. We’ll talk to people in the crowd.

PROTESTERS: Trans Black women! Trans Black women! Trans Black women!

HOPE GISELLE: How are you doing? I’m Hope Giselle. I’m the executive director of the National Trans Visibility March, and I’m out here because all of us deserve the space to feel like we have a voice in democracy. All of us deserve to feel like human beings, and all of us deserve to have our rights respected. And so, without a democracy, without a true democracy, we all fall to the wayside of a corruption and a government that does not see us as human beings, and I refuse to allow that to stand.

NICOLE: My name is Nicole. I come from Garfield, New Jersey. And my sign says, “If you’re not angry, you’re not paying attention.”

RENÉE FELTZ: What does that mean to you?

NICOLE: It means that you have to join the fight.

ENOVA: My name’s Enova. I came from Oregon. My sign says, “Liberation for all of us,” and “The people are stronger than fear.”

CALEB: My name is Caleb. And my sign says, “I am mad, very mad.”

PROTESTERS: Free, free Palestine! Free, free Palestine! Free, free, free Palestine! Free, free, free Palestine!

ANN WRIGHT: My name is Ann Wright. I’m a retired U.S. Army colonel and a former diplomat. I resigned in 2003 in opposition to the War in Iraq. Therefore, I’m here for the People’s March and a march for peace.

AMY GOODMAN: And you’re standing in front of the Free Palestine contingent. Talk about what you want to see and what you hope for Trump.

ANN WRIGHT: I hope that Trump will stop the aid, the military aid that we are giving to Israel, that is so complicit in the genocide of Gaza. We hope the ceasefire will hold, so that no more Palestinians are killed. But we, the people of the world, have to put pressure, continue to put pressures on our governments so that they put pressures on the Israelis to stop this genocide.

PROTESTERS: Free, free Palestine! Free, free, free Palestine!

BETH MILLER: Hi. My name is Beth Miller. I’m the political director with Jewish Voice for Peace. And we’re here today as part of the contingent with the Palestinian Freedom Movement, that is part of the broader antiwar contingent. And we’re here because we are showing up as part of the broader resistance to this incoming fascist authoritarian regime. And we’re here to make clear that all of our liberations, from here in the U.S. to Palestine and everywhere in between, are connected. And we understand that fascism here, fascism in Israel, requires a big, broad united front.

PROTESTERS: When teachers are under attack, what do we do? Stand up! Fight back!

TEXAS WOMAN: I’m originally from Texas, but we came from Florida. We drove here from Florida to come to attend this. It’s been on my bucket list for a while, and I just am really passionate about the government staying out of my body. And everybody should have right to their own body and rights for — the same as everybody else. And I just don’t think that that’s happening right now. And I think that this country was founded on protest and fighting for what you believe in.

RENÉE FELTZ: And could you read your sign, please, and describe it?

TEXAS WOMAN: It’s a naked woman with — it says, “Keep your policies off my body.”

PROTESTERS: People power! People power!

CRISTABEL: Hi. My name is Cristabel. I’m from Delaware. I’m marching for my mom today. She is currently in Mexico and can’t return. She went for forgiveness and then was denied. This is my stepdad. He actually lives in Mexico with her, and he came all the way here to march for her today.

AMY GOODMAN: And what message do you have for President Trump?

CRISTABEL: My message to Trump is: “F.U. If you can have Melania, I want Imelda.” That is my mom. Let her back in.

LESLIE CAGAN: Hi. I’m Leslie Cagan, and I’m with a fairly new group called Time to Act. And I’m here because where else would one be today? It is — now is the time to stand up as loudly, as boldly and in as big a numbers as we can, to say we’re not going away. We’re not sitting at home quietly. We are committed to resisting what the Trump administration, the MAGA Republicans, the Heritage Foundation, the billionaires, what they’re going to bring to us, the horrors that they’re going to rain on our communities. So we’re here to say we’re not going away. We’re fighting back.

AMY GOODMAN: And do you feel that the resistance is strong enough?

LESLIE CAGAN: We’re strong in our commitment, in our understanding of the problem, in our willingness to take bold action. We need more people. Honestly, we need more people in every community of this country to be speaking out. Some will come to marches. Some will make calls to their elected officials. Some will organize community defense and protection of immigrants and other communities. So, people will do it in different ways. We’re not as strong as we need to be, but we can get there.

PROTESTERS: End war! Save the planet! End war! Save the planet!

ANDREA PASKIN: My name is Andrea Paskin.

RENÉE FELTZ: And where did you come in from?

ANDREA PASKIN: Eastern Pennsylvania.

RENÉE FELTZ: I see. And were you here in 2017?

ANDREA PASKIN: Yes.

RENÉE FELTZ: Could you tell me about that? You came together then, too?

ANDREA PASKIN: Yes, we did. We’re sisters. And we came then for the exact same reason we’re here today. And that is — 

ANDREA’S SISTER: Even more.

ANDREA PASKIN: More so, because you have to resist and resist and resist and resist. I don’t know what else to say. There are just too many things to say that are going wrong. And we thought we had hopefully corrected them in 2020, and then we had an insurrection, and then we never had any peace.

ANDREA’S SISTER: Yeah, sure. All our children and grandchildren need to see that you have to do something. You can’t just wait around and let it happen to you. So, that’s why we’re here.

PROTESTERS: Tell me what democracy looks like! This is what democracy looks like! Show me what democracy looks like! This is what democracy looks like! Show me what democracy looks like! This is what democracy looks like!

AMY GOODMAN: The People’s March in Washington, D.C. This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. The People’s March culminated in a rally in front of the Lincoln Memorial with thousands gathered around the reflecting pool looking up at Abraham Lincoln.

BEN JEALOUS: Well, good morning!

CROWD: Good morning!

BEN JEALOUS: It is great to be here with you. My name is Ben Jealous, former national president of the NAACP. I’m proud to serve as the seventh executive director of the Sierra Club.

Now, I’ll tell you, this crowd today touches my heart. My mom is in a People’s March in California right now. When I was 12, she took me to my first march. It was a march against rape in our community that my father organized.

And so, today we come here from many movements. We come here for many reasons. We also come here as human beings who are clear that we must do everything in our power to create a greener, healthier Mother Earth for all of us. And that’s what my vice president, Shruti Bhatnagar, and I do at Sierra Club every day. And I’ll tell you this: January’s off to a wild start for the Sierra Club. Woke up one day, and Exxon was suing us. Woke up a few days later, and that Twitter troll-in-chief Elon Musk was attacking us. … You know, somebody up there has a sign that says, “Deport Musk and Murdoch.” …

Y’all are too much this morning. But I’ll tell you this: They only attack us because they fear us. They know that last time this man who comes back into office on Monday, last time that man was in office, we sued him hundreds of times, and we won hundreds of times. They know that last time that man was in office, we saw him install corrupt Cabinet members, and then he saw us run them out. They know that last time this man was in office, he said that we would burn more coal, and we shut down more coal-fired power plants than we had in either of Obama’s first terms. No, we are powerful enough, in other words, to keep making progress, no matter who is president. The people of this democracy, we don’t — we don’t elect politicians to make change for us. We try to elect the best politicians to make it a little easier for us to make change. But, you know, when the hill gets steeper, when the weather gets colder, we don’t cancel our gathering, and we keep climbing up that hill.

AMY GOODMAN: Ben Jealous, executive director of the Sierra Club, before that, head of the NAACP, addressing the People’s March in Washington, D.C.

ANALILIA MEJÍA: Y’all, I believe that we will win together! My people! All right, y’all, as you heard, my name is Analilia Mejía. I know that’s a lot of vowels. So, all you’ve got to hear is “Resist Trump.” That’s how you spell it. All right, y’all. Now, Popular Democracy, which is an organization of 50 organizations across the country who are like, “Hell no! This is our government. This is our country. It is our responsibility. We defend the 14th Amendment, and we are here to stand up and fight back.” Are you with me? …

Now, I know. I know. I’m pushing 50, so I feel it in my knees. I know that some of us, we’re weary. We are so tired. We cannot believe that we have to do this [bleep] again. Oops. I know that we are in disbelief and, frankly, in disappointment for the 90 million who stayed. But it’s all right, because, y’all, that even though we find ourselves in this moment, we’ve got to know that freedom, that justice is not a final destination, y’all. This is a practice. Every day, we need to make the decision: Are we going to uphold a democracy and the kind of government that is for the people, or are we going to sit it out? For me, I’m going to stand up. How about you?

CROWD: Yeah!

ANALILIA MEJÍA: Are you going to stand up, fight back?

CROWD: Yeah!

AMY GOODMAN: That was Analilia Mejía, co-executive director, the Center for Popular Democracy, speaking at the People’s March in front of the Lincoln Memorial on Saturday, addressing thousands.

When we come back, we’ll hear Dr. Martin Luther King on this federal holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King. But first, the Inaugural Peace Ball. Stay with us.

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AMY GOODMAN: “Ella’s Song (We Who Believe in Freedom Cannot Rest Until It Comes)” by Sweet Honey in the Rock, performing Saturday night at the 2025 Inaugural Peace Ball.