So, it happened: Donald J. Trump was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States on Jan. 20, just as planned. Anyone in Washington D.C. on the day of the inauguration can attest to this: Tensions between Trump supporters — as far and few as they were — and, well, literally everyone else ran high, and a stark feeling of despair blanketed the streets from Capitol Hill to Bethesda. Even as a nasty woman, strong and fearless and primed the fight the good fight during the next four years, it was easy to feel afraid. That's OK, of course: Part of being human is being afraid, especially in the face of something like a Trump administration. But, in a move that would have made OG nasty woman Carrie Fisher proud, nasty women everywhere stayed afraid, but did it anyway on Jan. 21 at Women's Marches all over the world. And, in doing so, a beautiful thing happened: During the Women's March on Washington, those same D.C. streets that had felt so cold and dark on Friday lit up with chants of sisterhood, of love, and of acceptance. Nasty women were still scared, still angry, and still disappointed in their country, but instead of lashing out with those feelings, all anyone did was spread love.
What struck this nasty woman in particular, in fact, was how much everyone nurtured and supported that message of love — even when I asked them to think of the one thing they would say to Trump if they had the chance. Nasty women (and men!) of all ages responded to the question — "if you could say one thing to Donald Trump, what would it be?" — with kindness, and quite honestly, I've never been prouder to be a nasty woman for this exact reason. When they go low, we go high, after all.
Here's what some amazingly nasty women had to say when asked what they'd like to tell Trump, if given the chance:
Ami, 29
"Care about people."
Puki, 29
"Love."
JJ, 36
"Care about people, not bottom lines."
Charrow, 35
"Check your privilege."
Ellie, 38
"Just listen."
Freda, 43, Miles, 16, Annie, 31, Lisa, 42, & Andrew, 34
- "Stay out of my uterus."
- "Not all muslims are terrorists."
- "Not all blacks are from the inner city."
Lola, 22
"You work for us!"
Shruti, 22
"Keep an open mind and serve all of us, not only some!"
Isabelle, 22
"Love and respect ALL of your people!"
Alaa, 22
"You don't scare me."
Ayesha, 24
"We are stronger together! Suck it, Trump!"
Melanie, 51
"If you had half the heart and soul of President Obama, you would be twice the man you are. Grow up."
Abby, 16
"Don't f*ck up my future!"
Bialy, 25
"We lead the climate change!"
Melissa, 32
"Science isn't an opinion."
Beth, 59
"Listen to the people and educate yourself with facts!"
Megan, 23
"You are on the wrong side of history. You will never silence us."