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Swarajya Staff
Jan 23, 2017, 12:34 PM | Updated 12:33 PM IST
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President Donald Trump on Sunday slammed Saturday's Women's Marches, which saw half a million protesters participating across the United States, asking “why didn’t these people vote” in the election. He criticised the participants and celebrities supporting the march, saying “celebs hurt cause badly”.
Watched protests yesterday but was under the impression that we just had an election! Why didn't these people vote? Celebs hurt cause badly.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 22, 2017
Trump seemed to accept the opposition, softening his tone just an hour-and-a-half later. In a Tweet, he identified “peaceful protests” as a hallmark of “democracy”. Interestingly, reports in the US media claimed on Saturday that the protesters got violent at some places, clashing with the police and halting the smooth flow of traffic.
Peaceful protests are a hallmark of our democracy. Even if I don't always agree, I recognize the rights of people to express their views.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 22, 2017
Taking a dig at the protesters and the media soon after, he shared the television ratings for his inauguration, which are reportedly higher than former president Barack Obama’s inauguration in 2012.
Wow, television ratings just out: 31 million people watched the Inauguration, 11 million more than the very good ratings from 4 years ago!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 22, 2017
According to N Y Daily News, Trump attracted the third biggest Nielsen ratings for an inauguration, after the first swearing-ins for former president Ronald Reagan (about 42 million, in 1981) and Obama (about 38 million, in 2009).