Donald Trump Makes False Claims About Inauguration Crowd, Says Media Lied

Donald Trump made a visit to the CIA headquarters on Saturday (January 21) during his first full day as president and he addressed the size of the crowd at his inauguration.

“It looked honestly like a million and a half people, whatever it was it was, but it went all the way back to the Washington Monument,” Trump said. Photos from the inauguration clearly showed that the crowd didn’t reach that point at all.

Trump then said he turned on the TV after the inauguration and got a network by mistake. “It showed an empty field and said we drew 250,000 people. Now, that’s not bad, but it’s a lie. We had 250,000 people literally around the little bowl we constructed. That was 250,000 people. The rest of the 20 block area all the way back to the Washington Monument was packed,” he said.

Trump also talked about his “running war with the media. They are among the most dishonest human beings on earth.”

The ratings are in for the television broadcast of the inauguration and 30.6 million people tuned in for the festivities, down from the 37.7 million viewers for Obama’s 2009 inauguration, according to Variety.