New York // Thousands of Americans spilt into the streets on Saturday for a new day of protests against Donald Trump, even as the president-elect appeared to back away from the fiery rhetoric that propelled him to the White House.
The Republican billionaire, who met with his transition team at his Manhattan residence, has sought to strike a conciliatory tone since his election sent a shock wave around the world.
On Friday he announced that he no longer intended to scrap Barack Obama’s signature health care law, ObamaCare.
“This will prove to be a great time in the lives of ALL Americans. We will unite and we will win, win, win!” he tweeted on Saturday, as up to 15,000 people prepared to march on Trump Tower under the rallying cry of “Trump is NOT my president.”
In Chicago, several thousand marched peacefully to chants of “No hate. No fear. Immigrants are welcome here.”
Mr Trump’s U-turn on ObamaCare — which as a candidate Mr Trump had branded a “disaster” — was prompted by his White House meeting with the outgoing president a day earlier.
In his first post-election interview, Mr Trump told The Wall Street Journal he may maintain a ban on insurance companies denying coverage because of certain medical conditions. He also said he may continue to ensure that children can remain on their parents' policies until the age of 26, a key ObamaCare tenet.
“I like those very much,” the 70-year-old real estate mogul and political novice said of both points.
It marked one of several moves by Mr Trump and his advisers away from his more sweeping campaign positions.
Asked whether he would, as threatened, name a special prosecutor to investigate his opponent Hillary Clinton over her use of a private email server as secretary of state, Mr Trump deflected.
“It’s not something I’ve given a lot of thought, because I want to solve health care, jobs, border control, tax reform,” he said.
Trump ally Newt Gingrich also cast doubt on whether he would make Mexico fund his proposed border wall.
“He’ll spend a lot of time controlling the border. He may not spend very much time trying to get Mexico to pay for it, but it was a great campaign device,” Mr Gingrich said.
Despite his more measured tone, Mr Trump has yet to respond to mounting calls to reassure the US public who fear a xenophobic crackdown under his authority.
Thousands of anti-Trump protesters held a third straight night of largely peaceful marches on Thursday, although violence marred a rally in Portland, Oregon, where a demonstrator was shot and injured.
*Agence France-Presse
