Thousands March In D.C. To Protest Trump Climate Policies

Thousands of marchers converged in Washington, D.C. for what organizers called the People's Climate March, stopping in front of the White House to boo and yell "shame!"

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

In Washington D.C. yesterday, the official temperature reached 91 degrees, a record high in the capital. The heat didn't stop thousands of activists from picking up their banners and signs and taking part in the People's Climate March to protest President Trump's climate policies. NPR's Jim Kane caught up with the marchers outside the White House.

JIM KANE, BYLINE: The thousands of protesters marched along a route very similar to the one that Donald Trump's inaugural parade followed 100 days before, along Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House where the cheering came to and end.

(BOOING)

KANE: The boos quickly turned to chants of shame.

UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Chanting) Shame, shame, shame, shame, shame...

KANE: While the marchers took selfies with their banners in hand and the White House in the background, on the other side of the iron fence groups emerging from the White House after a tour of the mansion paused to take selfies with the protesters in the background. Dennis Creech came to D.C. from Atlanta to take part in the march. He said the issue of saving the climate shouldn't be a partisan one.

DENNIS CREECH: Who doesn't want clean air? Who doesn't want clean water? Who does not want abundant nonpolluting energy?

KANE: The demonstration came just one week after a science March. Another rally is planned for May Day. Climate marcher Emily Verna of Washington, D.C., says she doesn't worry that her message is being diluted by one protest after another.

EMILY VERNA: The issues are all related. It's community standing up for each other and standing together. For me, it's a nice way to recharge and just remember that there is this coalition that's big, and we're going to move forward together and that there's a lot of us in the fight.

KANE: Jim Kane, NPR News, Washington.

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