Clarification appended.
Rebecca Keller was one of thousands of women who went to Washington this weekend. Many were in the nation's capital Saturday to show solidarity against President Donald Trump. Keller, an Athens resident, was there Friday to show support.
"I feel a great sense of patriotism and pride in America," Keller said about how she felt watching Trump's inauguration from the National Mall. "I can't believe we did it."
Keller, like other Athens women who supported Trump during the campaign, felt the country's future is bright and that women did not have much to worry about.
"I think in America you have it made, no matter what gender you are," Missy Pedulla, a freshman studying biochemistry, said. "It's sad to think that women in the United States don't believe that."
Both Pedulla and Keller acknowledged the women who were protesting around the country had the right to do so, but some women felt more strongly about the protesters. Rebecca Thacker, a part of Women for Trump and associate professor of management at OU, was not impressed with the Women's March.
"They're so irrelevant, acting like a bunch of petulant children," Thacker said. "They lack grace. There's no intellectual firepower behind this movement, so they're reduced to name-calling and nasty signs."
Thacker felt the protesters did not have legitimate complaints about their rights being violated.
"They want the government to force taxpayers to pay for birth control and abortion," she said. "They're just acting like spoiled children."
Abortions are not funded by the federal government. Title X, which provides coverage for family planning, does not cover abortion, and the Hyde Amendment restricts Medicaid funding from being used for abortions except in cases of rape, incest or endangerment to the mother.
Keller and Pedulla felt women should not be concerned about losing their rights under Trump.
"I don't think access to birth control will be taken away," Pedulla said. "You'll still be able to get it; it just won't be free."
A point of contention for many protesters was Trump would take away abortion rights. Trump has said he will appoint pro-life judges, but Keller does not think he will actively pursue outlawing abortion.
"That is not even a priority for him. He's not pushing it," she said. "He would sign a law to get rid of it if Congress put it on his desk, but I don't think he would go out of his way for it."
In a series of Tweets on Saturday, Trump's reaction to the protests was similar to Keller's and Pedulla's. He said "peaceful protests are a hallmark of our democracy," but that the protesters should have voted instead of protested.
For Keller, the protest did not detract from her experience in Washington for the inauguration. She received tickets to the Liberty Ball, a ball in honor of the presidential inauguration, as a thank you for volunteering for Trump. Keller said she stood behind Nigel Farage, former leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party, and spoke to him briefly.
"It was exhausting but fantastic," Keller said of the experience. "I'm so excited he's our president ... my kids can grow up in a country with a president who doesn't lie to us."
This story has been updated to clarify how federal funding is used in relation to abortion.
