On January 21, 2017, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer falsely claimed, “This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration — period — both in person and around the globe.” All figures were less than the 1.8 million who attended Obama's 2009 inaugural. Photographs showed Trump's crowd was noticeably smaller.
Washington Post gave Spicer four Pinocchios. PolitiFact rated it, “Pants on Fire.” Spicer later admitted he “screwed up” and said, “There was nobody happy with me that night.”