Spicer's claim today that "tens of millions" watched online is wrong. It was 4.6 million. [View all]

[Cattledog]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/01/22/spicer-earns-four-pinocchios-for-a-series-of-false-claims-on-inauguration-crowd-size/?utm_term=.c194de4df877


“We know that 420,000 people used the D.C. Metro public transit yesterday, which actually compares to 317,000 that used it for President Obama’s last inaugural.”

This is also false. The actual numbers are 783,000 trips for Obama in 2013 — more than double Spicer’s figure — and 571,000 for Trump in 2017. There were 1.1 million trips for Obama in 2009, the biggest day in Metro’s history. The number for Trump is actually lower than the average weekday ridership of 639,000 trips.

Again, we must emphasize that Spicer provided these numbers as part of a prepared statement. There is simply no excuse for such a basic failure to do due diligence in double-checking facts.

What was the second biggest day in Metro’s history? Jan. 21, 2017, for the Women’s March.