Hundreds of protesters voiced their opposition to President-elect Donald J. Trump Saturday in downtown Asheville. They gathered in front of the federal courthouse and marched down Patton Avenue to Pack Square in front of Vance Memorial chanting such slogans as "Love Trumps Hate," "This is what democracy looks like," and "Not my president."
26-year-old Frederick Billings called watching the election results "traumatic" and said he didn't think people voted rationally.
24-year-old Chelsea Thomas had harsh words for Trump, calling him "someone who's a racist, a bigot, enforcing gender stereotypes for women, is trying to make it so that people can't feel comfortable in their own country, is scaring children. Children cried when they found out he got elected. How can you be OK with that?"
She was also angry about the electoral college.
"The fact that he didn't win the popular vote but he won the electoral college and a lot of the states that he won, he won by a small margin. So it's impossible for you to say that the electoral college is basically representing our democracy very well, because today most people do not want Donald Trump as president."
Asheville is not alone in seeing anti-Trump protests. They've spread across the country in the wake of the election, with thousands protesting in large cities like New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. There was also an anti-Trump vigil on Friday night.
Trump made two visits to the Asheville area during the campaign. The first visit was downtown at the U.S. Cellular Center and was marked by loud protests and even scattered incidents of violence. The second one, at the Ag Center in Fletcher, was a quieter affair, at least as far as protests.
I recorded cell-phone footage of the Saturday protest. You can see that below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Orykzq_F8UI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIPlhIR214U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZZTad8mmDI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEmxoDMxtsA
