The rise of the Herbal Tea Party

AS A rule, populist insurgencies are rarely defeated with slogans in Latin. Yet there it was, swaying proudly over the protest march that filled the ceremonial heart of Washington, DC, a day after the inauguration of President Donald Trump—a handwritten sign reading: “Primum Non Nocere”. The cardboard sign, quoting the ancient medical principle “First, Do No Harm”, was held by Mike Gilbert, an epidemiologist from Boston, Massachusetts, who joined hundreds of thousands of others showing their disapproval of the new president. Mr Gilbert gave two reasons for attending what was officially the “Women’s March on Washington”, part of an internet-organised global protest that saw sister marches in hundreds of cities. He marched to show solidarity with “the women in my life” and to rally support for “sound science”, which he fears will be undermined by ideologues chosen to oversee scientific funding and regulation.

Many marchers set out to shame Mr Trump for boorishly boasting, years ago, that fame allowed him to grab women “by the pussy”. They wore knitted pink “pussy hats” with pointy ears, or carried such signs as “Viva La Vulva”. Some youngsters mocked the new president as a short-fingered nativist, chanting: “Can’t Build A Wall, Hands Too Small.” Still others said that they hoped their numbers would humiliate the president by dwarfing crowds that turned out for his inauguration. That gambit seemed to work, as Mr Trump spent his first days in office bragging implausibly about the size of his inaugural crowds.