Thousands of people made their disdain for President Donald Trump heard Saturday at a rally and march in Chicago aimed at galvanizing support for Democrats in the upcoming November midterm elections.
Photo: AFP People hold signs during a rally and march at Grant Park on October 13, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois to inspire voter turnout ahead of midterm polls in the United States.
Angered by the bitter fight over new US Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and what they called the "anti-woman agenda" of the Trump administration and the Republican Party, women - and men - descended on the Windy City's picturesque Grant Park.
The "March to the Polls" event - which began in the downtown park and wrapped up after a two-blocks-long crowd marched to the center of the business district - came just as voter registration deadlines neared in most states and early voting ramped up in more than a dozen states including Illinois.
Hillary Clinton appeared in a video message played on a giant screen, encouraging people to register to vote.
"Imagine being able to hold this administration accountable," Clinton said, echoing the general sentiment that the election is a barometer of Trump's popularity.
Saturday's demonstration included a street festival-like "Voter Village" where dozens of community groups and politicians set up booths to reach new voters and encourage political involvement.
The loud crowd of thousands of men, women and even children, marched through downtown Chicago chanting "Vote them out!"
The Chicago rally symbolized the political rancor generated by the partisan fight over Kavanaugh's confirmation despite sexual assault allegations and powerful testimony against him by his accuser Christine Blasey Ford.
All but one Senate Republican voted to confirm Kavanaugh to a lifetime appointment on the Supreme Court. All but one Democrat voted against.
Anti-Trump marches were scheduled later this month in other states, including the Republican strongholds of Texas, Georgia and South Carolina.
