Featured Image Credit: X/@RepTeresaLF
Topics: Donald Trump, US News, Politics, News
Rhiannon Ingle
Warning: This article contains discussion of sexual assault which some readers may find distressing
There's a seriously powerful reason as to why some people turned up to Donald Trump’s Congress speech wearing pink.
Earlier this week on Tuesday (March 4), Trump delivered his first major speech since he was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States a little over a month ago (January 20).
During the speech the 78-year-old Republican leader - who is the first convicted felon to assume the presidency - discussed everything he has done over the last few weeks since his inauguration, the economy, border security and his plans for global peace.
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However, viewers at home were quick to notice a large portion of Democrats in the assembly donned all-pink outfits as they made political statement towards Trump.
The decision in question, which is similar to a separate demonstration during Trump’s 2019 State of the Union address when Democratic women dressed in white to commemorate 100 years of women’s suffrage, was part of a coordinated protest against the president’s policies which significantly impact women.
Democrat representative, Teresa Leger Fernández, who helms the 96-member Democratic women’s caucus, explained to Time magazine that wearing the colour pink is intended to 'signal our protest of Trump’s policies which are negatively impacting women and families'.
"Pink is a colour of power and protest," she noted. "It’s time to rev up the opposition and come at Trump loud and clear. Women have worn pink in opposition to Trump before, and we will do it again."
Fernández listed a number of concerns regarding the Trump administration - fronted by a president who has been accused of sexual assault and harassment by dozens of women.
These included his newly-introduced tariffs on Canada and Mexico that could end up increasing prices on goods and pushing for a budget that would cut Medicaid - the largest single payer of maternity care in the US which covers over 40% of US. births.
She also argued that Trump's policies on reproductive health and social programs are disproportionately and negatively affecting women, particularly from working-class backgrounds.
“All of those are falling on women's shoulders especially hard," Leger Fernández continued. "Women in my district are terrified and are also losing their jobs with the indiscriminate, inconsistent, chaotic, mass firings. When a woman loses her job, she loses the ability to care for her family."
She urged: "I think it's important that Trump, my Republican colleagues, and the nation see the faces and the pain that he is inflicting on America and on the services we depend on."
It's important to note that not every person who was wearing pink during the speech is aligned with the Democratic women’s caucus as several Republicans also donned the colour too.
Speaking to the Democratic section of the assembly, Trump claimed there was nothing he could say to make them 'smile' or 'stand'.
He said: "I look at the Democrats in front of me, and I realise there is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy or to make them stand or smile or applaud. Nothing I can do.
"I could find a cure to the most devastating disease, a disease that would wipe out entire nations, or announce the answers to the greatest economy in history, or the stoppage of crime to the lowest levels ever recorded.
"And these people sitting right here will not clap, will not stand, and certainly will not cheer for these astronomical achievements."
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact The Survivors Trust for free on 08088 010 818, available 10am-12.30pm, 1.30pm-3pm and 6pm-8pm Monday to Thursday, 10am-12.30pm and 1.30pm-3pm on Fridays, 10am-12.30pm on Saturdays and 6pm-8pm on Sundays.