When I woke up after only a few hours of sleep on Wednesday, still struggling to process the fact that Donald Trump had been elected president of the United States, news of demonstrations was piling up in my inbox and social media feeds. I set out in the middle of the afternoon, arriving to a rapidly growing contingent in Manhattan's Columbus Circle at about 3:30 PM. Suffice to say, the crowd was already bustling, a testament to the anger and sadness coursing through America's largest city and plenty of urban centers across the nation.
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When I reached Union Square in the evening, a march was arriving, and the park was absolutely crammed. The eruption of applause and chants were electrifying. The crowd meandered north, sometimes breaking into two, but careful to reunite a few blocks later. The goal was to reach Trump Tower. We were blocked at our first attempt—the NYPD had set up concrete barriers around the place, rendering it something of a fortress. But eventually the crowd maneuvered itself in front of the building, filling the street from side to side for many blocks in each direction. There was less speaking at this point and mostly just chanting, an attempted flag burning, and a lot of pot smoking.It's easy to dismiss this kind of protest—which followed dozens in the past few years over police brutality—as a cheap act of catharsis. But New Yorkers, who voted overwhelmingly against their Native Son, seemed to feel uniquely responsible for this political freak show. Police reportedly arrested 15 people as traffic was slowed and protesters raged.Here's what I saw as the reality of Trump's America began to set in for New York.
