usmbguest5318
Gold Member
Watch this video and then read the rest of the post.
No policy making discussion. Was there a noteworthy action the President took between the 20th and and 21st?
Spicer opens his press conference not with the most important things going on in Trumps recent schedule -- signing executive orders, upcoming meetings with foreign leaders, etc. -- but with ranting about "soft news" coverage of the inauguration: crowd size, grass and ground coverings, minor redecorating in the Oval office, and artwork. Really? Content better suited to an op-ed on "Page 6" is what the White House thinks is important enough to call in reporters and discuss?
The fact is that the press will say whatever it wants to say; they have freedom of speech rights too. More importantly, however, the press will talk about whatever the president is talking about. Why on earth does Trump insist on making something out of nothing?
No policy making discussion. Was there a noteworthy action the President took between the 20th and and 21st?
Spicer opens his press conference not with the most important things going on in Trumps recent schedule -- signing executive orders, upcoming meetings with foreign leaders, etc. -- but with ranting about "soft news" coverage of the inauguration: crowd size, grass and ground coverings, minor redecorating in the Oval office, and artwork. Really? Content better suited to an op-ed on "Page 6" is what the White House thinks is important enough to call in reporters and discuss?
The fact is that the press will say whatever it wants to say; they have freedom of speech rights too. More importantly, however, the press will talk about whatever the president is talking about. Why on earth does Trump insist on making something out of nothing?
Crowd Size:
And in truly irrelevant news....
Whose suit did Sean Spicer borrow to deliver his press conference? Surely the RNC paid him enough that he could afford a property fitted suit.
As for Spicer's claims about the crowd size, well, judge for yourself. (click the photos for the related articles)
2009 Obama Inauguration on the left and Trump's inauguration on the right. (Time magazine)
Trump on the left and Obama 2009 on the right (The Telegraph)
B. Scott
PBS
If the 750K people it'd take to reach Trump's claim of a million people in attendance for his inauguration showed up after 12 noon, well, guess what, they missed the inauguration. Say what you want, but that's that's more people "late to the party" than one can reasonably assume just were late. You see, if at nine a.m. one commenced to walk from the far northwestern corner of DC to the National Mall, one would get there before 11:30 with time to spare, and nobody in their right mind would have thought they could drive on down to The Mall and park.
Snopes
Vox
What about the inaugural parade?
Josh Rogin
Evening Standard
Associated Press
Mediate (there's live video there too)
I suppose the crowds were "photoshopped" out of the bleachers? Not. You can watch the parade on video here. Watch it. It's CSPAN coverage. I can assure you that if there were a million people even in the vicinity of The Mall, that route would not look that empty.
For comparison, here is a shot of the crowd for the 2009 inaugural parade.
The mall with no crowds
Other large events on the national Mall:
Million Man March on the left and the 20th anniversary rally to commemorate it on the right
1997 Promise Keeper's rally
Here's some discussion that can put the whole thing in perspective.
Here are the widely cited estimates for recent inaugurations:
MLK Artwork: 2009 Obama Inauguration on the left and Trump's inauguration on the right. (Time magazine)
Trump on the left and Obama 2009 on the right (The Telegraph)
PBS
If the 750K people it'd take to reach Trump's claim of a million people in attendance for his inauguration showed up after 12 noon, well, guess what, they missed the inauguration. Say what you want, but that's that's more people "late to the party" than one can reasonably assume just were late. You see, if at nine a.m. one commenced to walk from the far northwestern corner of DC to the National Mall, one would get there before 11:30 with time to spare, and nobody in their right mind would have thought they could drive on down to The Mall and park.
Snopes
Vox
What about the inaugural parade?
Josh Rogin
For comparison, here is a shot of the crowd for the 2009 inaugural parade.
The mall with no crowds
Other large events on the national Mall:
Million Man March on the left and the 20th anniversary rally to commemorate it on the right
1997 Promise Keeper's rally
Here's some discussion that can put the whole thing in perspective.
Here are the widely cited estimates for recent inaugurations:
- President Bill Clinton, 1993: 800,000 people
- President Bill Clinton, 1997: 250,000 people
- President George W. Bush, 2001: 300,000 people
- President George W. Bush, 2005: 400,000 people
- President Barack Obama, 2009: 1.8 million people
- President Barack Obama, 2013: 1 million people
Trump is right. The reporter for Time magazine made an error. The White House said Trump never removed the King bust from the Oval Office. The error about the bust was first transmitted in a pool report distributed among reporters. The White House often uses a pool system when not all reporters who want to attend an event can be accommodated in a space.
At 7:30 p.m., reporter Zeke Miller wrote a pool report saying, “The MLK bust was no longer on display.” Once Miller realized his error, an update was sent to the pool. “The MLK bust remains in the Oval Office, in addition to the Churchill bust, per a WH aide. It was apparently obscured by a door and an agent during the spray. Your pool offers sincerest apologies.”
Miller also corrected the error on Twitter, and Time magazine corrected its story based on his report. “Correction: An earlier version of the story said that a bust of Martin Luther King had been moved. It is still in the Oval Office,” it reads.
It is worth noting that unlike Donald Trump, credible people and organizations simply admit their were wrong/mistaken and move on. That is a mark of integrity and character that eludes Trump.At 7:30 p.m., reporter Zeke Miller wrote a pool report saying, “The MLK bust was no longer on display.” Once Miller realized his error, an update was sent to the pool. “The MLK bust remains in the Oval Office, in addition to the Churchill bust, per a WH aide. It was apparently obscured by a door and an agent during the spray. Your pool offers sincerest apologies.”
Miller also corrected the error on Twitter, and Time magazine corrected its story based on his report. “Correction: An earlier version of the story said that a bust of Martin Luther King had been moved. It is still in the Oval Office,” it reads.
And in truly irrelevant news....
Whose suit did Sean Spicer borrow to deliver his press conference? Surely the RNC paid him enough that he could afford a property fitted suit.
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