After Trump's inauguration, he and Press Secretary Sean Spicer claimed the crowd was the largest ever. Kellyanne Conway defended the claim on NBC's Meet the Press as 'alternative facts," a phrase that became emblematic of the dispute over crowd size and truthfulness.
Trump Claims a Record Inauguration Crowd, and Conway Defends It as 'Alternative Facts'
Key Facts2
- 01Press Secretary Sean Spicer repeated the claim at his first White House press briefing
- 02Washington Metro ridership on Inauguration Day 2017 (570,557) was far lower than the 2009 inauguration total (1,107,912), indicating a smaller crowd
Sources3
Verified across 3 sources