Of the 500 people how many were professional leftist operatives, how many were just curiosity seekers, many were Trump supporters and how many were honest citizens who actually believed the “Trump is a racist” garbage.
It’s hard to estimate numbers. There were definitely some hard-core leftists. They are more serious, handing out literature, one of them even sneaking up when I was talking to someone to hear what I was saying, and then audibly telling his co-worker that I was a Trump supporter. (I was joking around with the guy trying to sell horse-carriage rides.)
The greatest number were probably the ignorant hangers-on who just like excitement and feeling righteous about themselves but with no defensible convictions on anything. Trump having been demonized by the press and the other candidates, they just glommed right onto that as something to be hateful about. It was a hate-Trump fest for the majority.
There definitely were some La Raza types who mostly just take offense that anyone would not want them to march right over the border and suddenly be American citizens. They have a certain arrogance about them.
Some very fashionable people with expensive cameras but without press tags.
There was one group with lots of black-and-white anti-racism signs and a huge banner who set themselves off from the others between Broadway and Central Park West instead of crossing over to be with the others. They were very serious, and it’s a serious subject. They just happen to be wrong about Trump.
The people who were just curious mostly went around the circle intersections by a different route after watching for a while. They didn’t join in with the group.
That probably doesn’t help much.
I now wish I had gone over to 57th and Fifth because it seems that’s where much of the action was.
The cops were many and everywhere and taking no guff from anyone. They had the Trump building at the circle well protected. They weren’t even letting northbound cars coming around the circle turn west at 60th Street, creating a bit of a traffic slowdown. Couldn’t figure out the reason for that. I would’ve thought it was better to keep it all moving. Must have been a reason.