In President Donald Trump's first official stop -- a meeting at CIA headquarters -- he accused the news media of lying about the size of his inauguration crowd.
Photos widely shared, shown and broadcast Friday show large empty spaces along the National Mall compared with the same space for Barack Obama's inauguration in 2009.
"We had a massive field of people," Trump said. "You saw that. Packed. I get up this morning, I turn on one of the networks, and they show an empty field. I'm like, 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."
Trump claims the crowd was 1.5 million people and that it went to the Washington Monument, which is in the middle of the Mall. However, photos show the crowd stopping short of the memorial.
The National Park Service doesn't provide an official estimate. However, other events that filled more of the Mall have not drawn a crowd of that size.
Estimates ahead of Friday's inauguration, expected anywhere from 700,000 to 900,000 people -- about half the number who turned out for Obama's first inauguration, which was estimated at 1.8 million people.
Nielsen, who oversee television ratings, estimate that 31 million viewers watched the inauguration. About 37.8 million people watched Obama's first inauguration.
>>Read Whose inauguration crowd was bigger, Trump or Obama?
The most-watched inauguration since 1969 was when 41.8 million people watched Ronald Reagan be sworn into office in 1981.
Trump's press secretary, Sean Spicer reinforced the president's message during his first on-camera appearance at the White House.
"There's been a lot of talk in the media about holding Donald Trump accountable. And I'm here to tell you that it goes two ways. We're going to hold the press accountable as well," Spicer said. "This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration — period — both in person and around the globe."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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