CHICAGO/NEW YORK – Throngs of demonstrators marched in cities across the United States on Wednesday to protest Republican Donald Trump’s surprise victory in the U.S. presidential election, blasting his controversial campaign rhetoric about immigrants, Muslims and other groups.
In New York, thousands of protesters filled streets in midtown Manhattan as they made their way to Trump Tower, Trump’s gilded home on Fifth Avenue, while hundreds of others gathered at a Manhattan park and shouted “Not my president”.
In downtown Chicago, an estimated 1 800 people gathered outside the Trump International Hotel and Tower, chanting phrases like “No Trump! No KKK! No racist USA”.
Chicago police closed roads in the area, impeding the demonstrators’ path. There were no immediate reports of arrests or violence.
“I’m just really terrified about what is happening in this country,” said 22-year-old Adriana Rizzo in Chicago, who was holding a sign that read: “Enjoy your rights while you can”.
Protesters railed against Trump’s campaign pledge to build a wall along the border with Mexico to keep immigrants from entering the country illegally.
Hundreds also gathered in Philadelphia, Boston, Seattle and Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday evening, and organisers planned rallies in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Oakland, California.
In Austin, the Texas capital, about 400 people marched through the streets, police said.
A representative of the Trump campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the protests. In his victory speech, Trump said he would be president for all Americans, saying: “It is time for us to come together as one united people”. (Reuters)
