# Trump's vs. Obama's inauguration crowds, True, or False **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 20, 2017, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-vs-obamas-inauguration-crowds-true-or-false/777654 "2017-01-20T18:24:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2017, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-vs-obamas-inauguration-crowds-true-or-false/777654/41 "2017-01-22T05:41:44Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > I don’t know why we’re comparing Trump to Obama. In this particular case, because it’s a GQ question 😛 ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2017, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-vs-obamas-inauguration-crowds-true-or-false/777654/42 "2017-01-22T05:42:29Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > So the low attendance appears to have triggered the Crybaby in Chief. **His press secretary flat out stated that it was the best attended inauguration ever** despite the overwhelming evidence: > [https://thinkprogress.org/trump-press-secretary-declares-war-on-the-press-and-reality-46fb1def9bfc#.28wxy0a6s](https://thinkprogress.org/trump-press-secretary-declares-war-on-the-press-and-reality-46fb1def9bfc#.28wxy0a6s) > > And then Trump spent 1/3 of his speech to the CIA complaining about how the media lied about the attendance claiming there was a million people there. > [https://thinkprogress.org/trump-cia-speech-inauguration-crowd-size-5cc9a21a5220#.vcnuhg13d](https://thinkprogress.org/trump-cia-speech-inauguration-crowd-size-5cc9a21a5220#.vcnuhg13d) Specifically, he said\* viewed around the world\*. He’s probably right since Putin didn’t order everyone in Russia to watch Obama get inaugurated. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2017, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-vs-obamas-inauguration-crowds-true-or-false/777654/43 "2017-01-22T06:08:09Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Specifically, he said\* viewed around the world\*. He’s probably right since Putin didn’t order everyone in Russia to watch Obama get inaugurated. Nope, he can’t weasel out of it that way. Spicer’s exact words: “This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration. Period,” Spicer said. “ **Both in person** and around the globe.” ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2017, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-vs-obamas-inauguration-crowds-true-or-false/777654/44 "2017-01-22T06:14:26Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > But I don’t know why we are talking about inauguration crowds at all. Or why Trump himself is drawing so much attention to the issue, which is a big nothing compared to the many problems this nation faces that deserve his attention more than this. For the same reason he exaggerates about everything - he’s a very insecure person who fears that if everything he does isn’t the best and the biggest and the greatest, that people will see him as the loser he knows he is. ---
**Author:** ![Okrahoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90db22/32.png) [@Okrahoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Okrahoma)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2017, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-vs-obamas-inauguration-crowds-true-or-false/777654/45 "2017-01-22T06:21:03Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > Nope, he can’t weasel out of it that way. Spicer’s exact words: > “This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration. Period,” Spicer said. “ **Both in person** and around the globe.” “Both in person and around the globe” can mean the total number of people witnessing the inauguration. That is, adding the “in person” people to “around the globe”. Which very well may be true. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2017, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-vs-obamas-inauguration-crowds-true-or-false/777654/46 "2017-01-22T06:30:22Z")
> [@Okrahoma](#): > > “Both in person and around the globe” can mean the total number of people witnessing the inauguration. That is, adding the “in person” people to “around the globe”. Nope, I don’t buy that at all. He is clearly trying to claim that BOTH the numbers of in person attendance and the viewers around the globe were the highest ever. If there was any doubt about that then his later claims that the media are lying about the in-person attendance makes clear his intent. Here is the full text of the press conference, and his figures for public transport ridership don’t match those released by the Washinton public transport authority either. The man is flat out lying about something which can be objectively measured. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/01/21/sean-spicer-held-a-press-conference-he-didnt-take-questions-or-tell-the-whole-truth/?utm\_term=.f0d7f76dec66](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/01/21/sean-spicer-held-a-press-conference-he-didnt-take-questions-or-tell-the-whole-truth/?utm_term=.f0d7f76dec66) ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2017, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-vs-obamas-inauguration-crowds-true-or-false/777654/47 "2017-01-22T07:36:33Z")
> [@TSBG](#): > > Democrats are all on the welfare and don’t have jobs to go to, so they show up to thank the guy who gives them free money. > > JOKING!!! You joke, but this is exactly what Trump supporters argued on a few news sites I read. That, and the media lies about the size of the crowds, and the footage was “photoshopped”. They haven’t seem to have agreed on which is which as it can’t be both. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2017, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-vs-obamas-inauguration-crowds-true-or-false/777654/48 "2017-01-22T08:14:09Z")
> [@Okrahoma](#): > > “Both in person and around the globe” can mean the total number of people witnessing the inauguration. That is, adding the “in person” people to “around the globe”. > > Which very well may be true. “May be” but it seems doubtful. The inauguration got [far fewer domestic viewers](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-inauguration-ratings-idUSKBN15600S) than Obama’s had so unless there was a surge of international interest above and beyond what Obama had, I can’t imagine that global numbers compare. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2017, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-vs-obamas-inauguration-crowds-true-or-false/777654/49 "2017-01-22T08:58:39Z")
It’s clear from the aerial shots that Obama drew the bigger crowds but, as **Okrahoma** pointed out, it’s perfectly understandable that more people would want to be present at the making of history with the inauguration of the first black president. (The suggestion by another poster that equal crowds should have turned out for the ‘historic’ event of a non-politician President is surely not serious.) ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2017, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-vs-obamas-inauguration-crowds-true-or-false/777654/50 "2017-01-22T09:01:02Z")
But why then did Trump and his press secretary say otherwise? Were they lying? ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2017, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-vs-obamas-inauguration-crowds-true-or-false/777654/51 "2017-01-22T09:17:02Z")
Yes ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2017, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-vs-obamas-inauguration-crowds-true-or-false/777654/52 "2017-01-22T09:22:24Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > It’s clear from the aerial shots that Obama drew the bigger crowds but, as **Okrahoma** pointed out, it’s perfectly understandable that more people would want to be present at the making of history with the inauguration of the first black president. (The suggestion by another poster that equal crowds should have turned out for the ‘historic’ event of a non-politician President is surely not serious.) It is also clear that _this_ particular argument, whether true or not, was not brought up by either Trump or his reps, so it is not pertinent to the question as to which figures are correct. The numbers are in question, not the reasons for them. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2017, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-vs-obamas-inauguration-crowds-true-or-false/777654/53 "2017-01-22T11:07:03Z")
Nevermind. Thought this was GD. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2017, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-vs-obamas-inauguration-crowds-true-or-false/777654/54 "2017-01-22T11:15:24Z")
_" Like it or not, we live in interesting times."_ ---
**Author:** ![ticker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@ticker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ticker)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2017, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-vs-obamas-inauguration-crowds-true-or-false/777654/55 "2017-01-22T11:15:32Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > “May be” but it seems doubtful. The inauguration got [far fewer domestic viewers](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-inauguration-ratings-idUSKBN15600S) than Obama’s had so unless there was a surge of international interest above and beyond what Obama had, I can’t imagine that global numbers compare. My perception FWIW is that here in the UK the inauguration has garnered far more interest than even Obama’s with the ceremony broadcast live on major TV networks. This should not be taken as necessarily supportive of Trump as even in the country of Brexit very few have anything good to say about him, apart from toadying politicians most of whom were stridently critical before the election. I see it more as shocked fascination, a bit like watching Russian car-crash videos on YouTube. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2017, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-vs-obamas-inauguration-crowds-true-or-false/777654/56 "2017-01-22T12:46:42Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > “May be” but it seems doubtful. The inauguration got [far fewer domestic viewers](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-inauguration-ratings-idUSKBN15600S) than Obama’s had so unless there was **a surge of international interest** above and beyond what Obama had, I can’t imagine that global numbers compare. No doubt Putin ordered the citizens of Russia to view the event. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2017, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-vs-obamas-inauguration-crowds-true-or-false/777654/57 "2017-01-22T14:00:30Z")
> [@Richard\_Pearse](#): > > Yes I wanted one of them to say it. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2017, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-vs-obamas-inauguration-crowds-true-or-false/777654/58 "2017-01-22T15:56:57Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > But why then did Trump and his press secretary say otherwise? Were they lying? Trump’s Press Secretary was lying. Trump himself was probably truthfully saying what his brain was telling him at that minute. While standing in front of the CIA’s memorial wall, which has stars instead of names for CIA personnel killed on duty… (And what will Trump’s brain tell him late at night in the White House–after Melania’s returned to NYC? The residence of every President since John Adams (although I think Truman moved out when the place was renovated). Where FDR saw the country through Depression & War. Where Lincoln’s & JFK’s bodies lay in state. Where a drunken Nixon raged in the last days before his resignation.) ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2017, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-vs-obamas-inauguration-crowds-true-or-false/777654/59 "2017-01-22T16:06:34Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > Trump’s Press Secretary was lying. > > Trump himself was probably truthfully saying what his brain was telling him at that minute. While standing in front of the CIA’s memorial wall, which has stars instead of names for CIA personnel killed on duty… > > ( **And what will Trump’s brain tell him late at night in the White House** –after Melania’s returned to NYC? The residence of every President since John Adams (although I think Truman moved out when the place was renovated). Where FDR saw the country through Depression & War. Where Lincoln’s & JFK’s bodies lay in state. Where a drunken Nixon raged in the last days before his resignation.) I’m \*better \*than these guys! I like Presidents who can can walk. _lurches around room_ I prefer Presidents who don’t get shot in office! _pretends to dodge bullets_ I like Presidents who don’t get caught! _mimes being handcuffed_ Loser! ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2017, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-vs-obamas-inauguration-crowds-true-or-false/777654/60 "2017-01-22T16:50:43Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > No doubt Putin ordered the citizens of Russia to view the event. Obvious Russia jokes aside (no offense, I was going to make one in my post myself) it seems that Russia [didn’t broadcast](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/trump-inauguration-how-networks-uk-russia-mexico-beyond-will-wont-cover-965883) it at all. > [@](#): > > But don’t expect to see any live coverage of Trump’s inauguration on Russian TV networks. None of them – whether bigger or smaller – are scheduled to air the inauguration either live or in a taped version. I haven’t seen what the UK ratings but in 2009, Obama’s inauguration drew 5mil viewers. I think it’s safe to say that they didn’t make up an additional 7mil deficit this time around. More to the point, no one believes that Spicer had international viewership numbers when he made his claim. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-vs-obamas-inauguration-crowds-true-or-false/777654.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-vs-obamas-inauguration-crowds-true-or-false/777654.md?page=4)