Donald Trump was inaugurated President today. He did so in front of a crowd that paled against his predecessor's, as people stayed away in droves. Images of Barack Obama's inauguration alongside Trump's show the huge disparity in crowd size. Trump's was much smaller.
Compare the crowds: 2009 inauguration at left, 2017 inauguration at right.#Inauguration pic.twitter.com/y7RhIR2nfC
— Binyamin Appelbaum (@BCAppelbaum) January 20, 2017
As you can see, he can barely fill the National Mall. The crowd at Trump's parade was equally sparse. Note the empty stands. If you squint, you can almost see a person sitting there.
“It’s almost like a funeral,” one attendee told the Washington Post. The Post further notes that the president will traditionally walk through the crowd. Trump, by contrast, stayed in his limousine and stared straight ahead.
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Unbelievable crowds, the hugest crowds, so many people pic.twitter.com/uwxMjro2Zz
— Tom Scocca (@tomscocca) January 20, 2017
For anyone questioning the timing of these pics. The parade is ongoing. See the tractors? Now. See the empty stands? ??#ObamaDay pic.twitter.com/rd9AO0Yx2g
— #ThanksObama (@ReignOfApril) January 20, 2017
Vice President Mike Pence just passed ...#InaugurationDay2017 pic.twitter.com/ICgrhMZ5Kq
— Deborah Berry (@dberrygannett) January 20, 2017
Trump's team must have been feeling a little insecure about the size of their crowd, because they briefly used a shot from Obama's inauguration as the new banner image for @POTUS. The image has since been replaced with a low-resolution shot of Trump staring out a window.
Donald Trump’s banner image is from Obama’s 2009 inauguration (h/t @4evrmalone) pic.twitter.com/TWMI1HryAh
— Freddie Campion (@FreddieCampion) January 20, 2017
Donald Trump's official bio, meanwhile, has been changed to tout his victory in an election which he lost by 3 million votes nationally.
Lord he's pathological. this is from trump's new official govt bio pic.twitter.com/5NLKNErGLm
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) January 20, 2017