NPS releases official photos of Trump's inauguration crowd

The US National Parks Service on Monday released official photos from the inauguration ceremonies of President Donald Trump and former President Barack Obama . They seem to confirm that fewer people turned out for Trump's inauguration.

The NPS, which manages the National Mall in Washington, took the photos of Trump's inauguration in January from a helicopter and various ground vantage points. The images were released in response to a Freedom of Information Act request from Buzzfeed and other outlets.

The White House didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Before the inaugural festivities had even finished, the size of the crowd on the mall became a trending topic on social media. People were sharing comparison photos like the one above to prove whose was bigger -- whose inauguration crowd that is -- Trump's or Obama's. A record-breaking 1.8 million people were estimated to have turned out for Obama's first inauguration in 2009, and an estimated 1 million showed up for the second one, four years later.

President Trump has accused the media of under-reporting the size of the crowd at his inauguration and said during an appearance at the CIA that "the 20-block area all the way back to the Washington Monument was packed." White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer also asserted that it was "largest audience to ever witness the inauguration period, both in person and around the globe."

The NPS images appear to show otherwise.

By the way, the Park Service is part of the executive branch that Trump now runs. So in a way, the president's own administration has just debunked him. We'll find out if he sees it that way.

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