Did Hillary Show Up To The March For Science?

On Saturday, April 22, not coincidentally Earth Day, the March for Science descended on the nation's capital. It's comprised of scientists, pro-science activists representing a broad range of issues, and simply people who wanted to express solidarity for science in the Trump era. The marchers flooded into Washington, D.C. publicly backed by mainstream figures in the Democratic Party and progressive movement, too ― like Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and yes, Hillary Clinton. But if you're wondering whether Hillary Clinton is at the March for Science, the answer appears to be no.

As it stands now, Clinton hasn't made an appearance at the march. This wouldn't be the first time she, nor most politicians, publicly backed a cause that they didn't personally attend ― she also skipped the Women's March on Washington, despite being publicly supportive of it. In short, she seems to have opted for a promote-from-afar approach.

Neither, for the record, did her former primary rival Bernie Sanders apparently attend the march. But that didn't deter either of them from making statements of support for the massive pro-science demonstrations. The main march took place in Washington, but other thousands-strong marches went down in major cities throughout the United States and around the world. Specifically, Clinton tweeted for supporters of the event to "march on," along with a link to an interview with Neil deGrasse Tyson about "the threat of science denial."

Clinton has only recently begun keeping an increased public profile again, in the aftermath of her narrow electoral college loss to Donald Trump on Election Day last year. For a time after the race ended, she was rarely seen in public, beyond the occasional forest selfie snapped with a supporter who'd run into her while she was walking her dogs. It became the subject of countless jokes and memes.

But weeks after the loss, she began slowly mounting a return to public life, first appearing at a Children's Defense Fund event, then making more regular appearances in the following months. As such, it wouldn't have been shocking to see her turn out for the march ― and for any Democratic voters among the march who supported her, it might've been exciting.

But it's also worth noting that countless elected officials who can actually help make laws right now didn't show up either, and that's perhaps a more significant issue than whether Clinton showed up at this this point. After all, barring some future and highly unforeseeable run for public office, she's out of the government game, and is free to use her voice and her presence however she wants.