The Trump administration disputed crowd numbers at the swearing-in ceremony despite photos released by the National Park Service that showed a significant difference in the audience from President Barack Obama’s first inauguration in 2009.
Speaking at CIA headquarters on Saturday, Donald Trump blasted the “dishonest media” for underestimating the numbers who came out to witness his swearing-in as the 45th president on Friday.
“It looked honestly – it looked like a million and a half people. Whatever it was, it was. But it went all the way back to the Washington Monument. And I turn on the thing, and by mistake I get this network, and it showed an empty field. And it said we drew 250,000 people. Now that’s not bad, but it’s a lie,” Trump said.
Later Saturday, White House press secretary contested the numbers and said the crowd was the largest ever at an inauguration.
But photos released by the National Park Service from Trump’s ceremony compared to Obama’s first inauguration in 2009 show a marked difference in the amount of people in the National Mall.
Estimates put the audience at Obama’s swearing-in at 1.8 million people.
The numbers for Trump are a sore point of contention.
At Saturday’s press briefing in the White House, Sean Spicer said mats placed on the grass caused a visual trick that emphasized gaps in the crowd.
“This was the first time in our nation’s history that floor coverings have been used to protect the grass on the Mall,” he said, mentioning the white mats. “That had the effect of highlighting any areas where people were not standing, while in years past the grass eliminated this visual.”
But photos from Obama’s 2013 inaugural ceremony show mats protecting the grass in the Mall.
Later Saturday, the National Park Service did a mea culpa on Twitter.
“We regret the mistaken RTs from our account yesterday and look forward to continuing to share the beauty and history of our parks with you,” it said.
Asked on CNN about Spicer’s disputing the facts, Hillary Clinton’s former campaign spokesman Brian Fallon said Trump’s mouthpiece should have resigned rather than be forced by Trump or White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus to provide false facts.
“He should have resigned rather than go out and take the podium,” he said.