A vigil to “honour” USA’s outgoing President Barack Obama and encourage Americans to defend the country’s “democratic values” during Donald Trump’s presidency will be held by a group of American expats in Lisbon on Friday, January 20 – the day Trump is due to be sworn in as the 45th President of the United States of America.
The event, “open to everyone”, will begin at Largo do Carmo at 5pm (local time), coinciding with Trump’s official swearing-in in Washington D.C.
“For Americans living abroad, it is especially important to remain involved in the country’s political process and show the world that we will examine and respond to the actions of a government whose first signs have been very worrying,” one of the organisers, Misha Pinkhasov, told Lusa news agency.
Co-organiser Patrick Siegler-Lathrop, president of Democrats Abroad, said the vigil will also pay what he calls “non-partisan” tribute to Obama and his administration for “what was accomplished in the last eight years in several areas”:
“Seventy-five straight months of job growth,” the ObamaCare programme which provided health insurance to millions and Obama’s “leadership in the creation of international agreements to fight global warming”.
The vigil’s organisers said that similar events are taking place in the US before and after Trump’s swearing in, as well in other parts of Europe.
