Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the American Airlines Center on September 14, 2015 in Dallas, Texas. More than 20,000 tickets have been distributed for the event. (Photo : Getty Images/Tom Pennington)
While President Barak Obama and Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton have conceded their defeat at the United States' presidential elections on Nov. 9, Tuesday, their backers are still reluctant to accept Republican Donald Trump as their next president. This was manifested when thousands of protestors took to the streets across the country to vent their anger and despair over the election results.
Irate mobs blocked highways, set fire to the American flag, burned Trump's effigy and threatened widespread backlash, bringing to fore the difficult times Trump will be facing in uniting a divided nation, the Washington Post reported. Outside Trump's headquarters and penthouse apartment in Midtown, the demonstrators climbed light poles and burned flags.
Demonstrations were staged everywhere from metropolitan centers to smaller cities, forcing the authorities to arrest dozens to bring the situation under control. The protests sparked off in Union Square, where a large crowd assembled to express their fury over the election results.
Simultaneously, thousands of protestors moved from the Sixth Avenue towards Fifth Avenue and assembled before Trump Tower, shouting "Trump is Hitler!" Some demonstrators were seen venting their ire and chanting slogans like "Donald Trump, go away! Sexist, racist, anti-gay!"
While angry mobs started protests and vigils from coast to coast, it is believed that the president-elect shut himself in an office inside the building, bringing together the team that will assist him in the transition of power and run the government from Jan. 20.
Soon, the protests spread to cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, Richmond and Portland, Ore. Demonstrations were also staged in states like Atlanta, Dallas and Kansas City, Mo., which were won by the Republicans. However, the major demonstrations were staged in urban centers of blue states won by Clinton on Tuesday, underscoring the demographic split that influenced the election results.
Two police officers sustained injuries in Oakland, Calif., while the demonstrators burned two patrol cars. Some protestors even hurled objects at the police, smashed windows and set off small fires in the business district. Some protestors even set fire to an American flag in Los Angeles. "That man who is not our president, we are going to make him hear us," New York Post quoted Shanon Malone, a 34-year-old demonstrator, as saying.
Hundreds of protestors, by and large young people, assembled outside the White House in Washington for a candlelight vigil. Later, they headed to the newly opened Trump International Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue. As protestors gathered at Michigan Avenue, they waved signs with messages like "Time to revolt."
Watch anti-Trump protests in New York City on Nov. 9, Wednesday.
