Thousands marked the first anniversary of the national women’s march in cities across the country on Saturday, vowing that last year’s massive turnout was only the first step in the ongoing protests against President Donald Trump.

"Today we’re sending Trump another message, look out your window," Toni Van Pelt, president of the National Organization for Women, told marchers in Washington. "See us, hear us, feel our power. You can’t stop us with your tweets, you can’t stop us with your bullying and you can’t stop us with your hate speech."

Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez emphasized the number of women running on the party’s ticket in November.

"If the Congress, if the White House, if the governorships across America had more women like I see here today, we would be a much better America," Perez said.

Trump took to Twitter to give his personal take on the marchers on Saturday afternoon: "Beautiful weather all over our great country, a perfect day for all Women to March. Get out there now to celebrate the historic milestones and unprecedented economic success and wealth creation that has taken place over the last 12 months. Lowest female unemployment in 18 years!"

At its 2 p.m. peak, last year’s Washington march drew some 470,000 marchers in a pointed protest to Trump’s inauguration. This year’s focus is on Las Vegas, though news footage showed large swells of protesters in New York, Los Angeles and Denver.

Organizers have said that they are focusing on Nevada because of its importance in November’s midterm elections. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton narrowly carried the state in 2016 and Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) is widely viewed as one of the most endangered GOP incumbents — a must-take seat for Democrats in their quest for the majority.

While the march was planned before the government shutdown, multiple speakers emphasized that Democratic lawmakers need to hold their ground on legal protections for so-called Dreamers, a key sticking point in the ongoing government funding negotiations.

Trump made the decision to end DACA, an Obama-era immigration executive order, last year, but delayed the repeal until March.

Source: https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/20/womens-march-anniversary-dc-352231