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| Trump Attacks News Media Over Reporting on Crowd Size | Trump Attacks News Media Over Reporting on Crowd Size |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| WASHINGTON — President Trump and his staff spent their first full day in the White House waging a bitter war against the news media over depictions of the crowd at the inauguration on Friday. | WASHINGTON — President Trump and his staff spent their first full day in the White House waging a bitter war against the news media over depictions of the crowd at the inauguration on Friday. |
| In a pair of angry public appearances on Saturday, Mr. Trump and his White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, excoriated the news media for what they said were deliberate efforts to understate the number of people who had gathered on the National Mall. | In a pair of angry public appearances on Saturday, Mr. Trump and his White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, excoriated the news media for what they said were deliberate efforts to understate the number of people who had gathered on the National Mall. |
| He claimed that Mr. Trump had drawn “the largest inaugural crowd ever,” but quickly acknowledged that there were “no numbers” to confirm it, noting that the Park Service does not issue crowd estimates. | He claimed that Mr. Trump had drawn “the largest inaugural crowd ever,” but quickly acknowledged that there were “no numbers” to confirm it, noting that the Park Service does not issue crowd estimates. |
| The Park Service said in 2009 that it “firmly” believed that Barack Obama had drawn the largest crowd ever to the National Mall. Photographs of Mr. Obama’s first inauguration and of Mr. Trump’s clearly showed that the crowd on Friday was significantly smaller. | The Park Service said in 2009 that it “firmly” believed that Barack Obama had drawn the largest crowd ever to the National Mall. Photographs of Mr. Obama’s first inauguration and of Mr. Trump’s clearly showed that the crowd on Friday was significantly smaller. |
| Earlier on Saturday at an appearance at the C.I.A. headquarters, Mr. Trump said the news media had created a misleading impression about his inauguration crowd. | Earlier on Saturday at an appearance at the C.I.A. headquarters, Mr. Trump said the news media had created a misleading impression about his inauguration crowd. |
| “We had a massive field of people — you saw that,” he said. “I get up this morning, I turn on one of the networks, and they show an empty field. I said, ‘Wait a minute, I made a speech, I looked out, the field was, it looked like a million, million and a half people.’ They showed a field where there were practically nobody standing there and they said, ‘Donald Trump did not draw well.’” | “We had a massive field of people — you saw that,” he said. “I get up this morning, I turn on one of the networks, and they show an empty field. I said, ‘Wait a minute, I made a speech, I looked out, the field was, it looked like a million, million and a half people.’ They showed a field where there were practically nobody standing there and they said, ‘Donald Trump did not draw well.’” |
| Mr. Spicer started his first White House briefing by accusing news outlets of intentionally manipulating photographs “to minimize the enormous support” that Mr. Trump had received. He suggested that the news media wanted to compare the turnout on Friday unfavorably with the huge anti-Trump protest in Washington on Saturday. | Mr. Spicer started his first White House briefing by accusing news outlets of intentionally manipulating photographs “to minimize the enormous support” that Mr. Trump had received. He suggested that the news media wanted to compare the turnout on Friday unfavorably with the huge anti-Trump protest in Washington on Saturday. |
| He then launched into a detailed technical discussion of inaugural crowd-counting, attributing clearly visible gaps in the crowd to white “coverings” meant to protect the grass. He also said that security measures had prevented “hundreds of thousands” of people from entering the Mall. | He then launched into a detailed technical discussion of inaugural crowd-counting, attributing clearly visible gaps in the crowd to white “coverings” meant to protect the grass. He also said that security measures had prevented “hundreds of thousands” of people from entering the Mall. |
| He claimed that Mr. Trump’s inaugural was the first one for which white plastic sheets were used, highlighting the empty spaces. In fact, they were used at Mr. Obama’s 2013 inauguration as well, according to images taken that day by news outlets. | |
| And he incorrectly claimed that ridership on Washington’s subway system was higher than on Inauguration Day in 2013. In reality, there were 782,000 riders that year, compared to 571,000 riders this year, according to a study by The Washington Post. | |
| “We are going to hold the press accountable,” Mr. Spicer shouted before leaving without answering reporters’ questions. | “We are going to hold the press accountable,” Mr. Spicer shouted before leaving without answering reporters’ questions. |
| Ari Fleischer, George W. Bush’s first press secretary, who watched Mr. Spicer’s broadside on television, wrote on Twitter: “This is called a statement you are told to make by the President. And you know the President is watching.” | Ari Fleischer, George W. Bush’s first press secretary, who watched Mr. Spicer’s broadside on television, wrote on Twitter: “This is called a statement you are told to make by the President. And you know the President is watching.” |
| The issue of crowd size, so important to a president obsessed with image and branding, completely overshadowed Mr. Trump’s messages of economic resurgence and a new war on the “carnage” he believes to be taking place in America’s cities. | The issue of crowd size, so important to a president obsessed with image and branding, completely overshadowed Mr. Trump’s messages of economic resurgence and a new war on the “carnage” he believes to be taking place in America’s cities. |
| A photographic analysis of an image taken 45 minutes before Mr. Trump took the oath of office and an image taken at the same time eight years earlier during Mr. Obama’s ceremony showed far fewer attendees for Mr. Trump’s event. | A photographic analysis of an image taken 45 minutes before Mr. Trump took the oath of office and an image taken at the same time eight years earlier during Mr. Obama’s ceremony showed far fewer attendees for Mr. Trump’s event. |
| The analysis, by Keith Still, a professor at Manchester Metropolitan University in Britain, an expert on crowd estimates, said he believed that Mr. Trump’s crowd was about one-third the size of Mr. Obama’s. | The analysis, by Keith Still, a professor at Manchester Metropolitan University in Britain, an expert on crowd estimates, said he believed that Mr. Trump’s crowd was about one-third the size of Mr. Obama’s. |