The team of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has raised a record 90 million U.S. dollars for the events related to his inauguration on January 20, local media revealed.
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After a deeply polarizing campaign, Trump’s surprise victory in the November 8 election has inflamed passions across the political spectrum.
Bringing together “people of all genders, ages, races, cultures, political affiliations and backgrounds”, organizers say the protest march seeks to secure immigrant rights and access to abortion services, among other demands – things which Trump’s critics accuse him of wanting to curb.
Cornelius praised Trump for his ability to take his message directly to the American people through social media. AT&T says it has made both cash and in-kind donations, including quintupling phone capacity on the National Mall.
Although some hotels still have rooms available, most are full.
“It’s been much, much slower than anyone would have anticipated for a first-term president”, he said. That compares with some 1.8 million attending Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration as America’s first black president, one of the largest crowds ever to gather in the USA capital for such an event.
Organisers estimate Saturday’s march will draw some 25,000 protesters. He said 1,800 buses have registered to park in the city on January 21, which would mean almost 100,000 people coming in just by bus. He also said there will be “plenty of movie and entertainment stars”. “Heck, who knows? One day somebody might look at a picture of it 100 years from now, and there I stand”.
Buttrey said he especially wanted to be in the crowd for Trump’s swearing in, not only because it’s history, but because it was a chance “to be really on the ground floor of what I feel like may be a turnaround for our country”. The Cleveland Police Mounted Unit is among the 40 participating organizations, bands and marching groups.
“It is not going to be politics as usual”, Walters said. They’re on the hook, for example, to cover the close to $5 million cost of building the bunting-decorated 10 000 square-foot platform built on the West Front of the Capitol for the swearing-in.
About nine times more permits to park tour buses in D.C. have been requested for the day of the Women’s March on Washington than on Inauguration Day, according to a D.C. councilmember.
Congressman Lewis, who represents an area that includes most of Atlanta, is the most high-profile Democrat to snub next Friday’s event. The company’s president and co-founder Siheun Song said the northeastern portion of the United States has “largely become sold out of motor coaches” for the day.
“In six years of doing business we’ve never seen buses get sold out so quickly”, she said.
Lewis had already announced by the time of his interview that he would not attend the inauguration – the first he would miss – and by the end of Saturday, 15 more Democratic lawmakers had announced they would be staying away too.
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Because the Presidential Inaugural Committee, or PIC, was not formed until after the November election, JTF-NCR provided invaluable assistance to the PIC by collecting applications from prospective parade participants.
