I've been thinking and thinking. Can't find an answer.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

11. They were large, but never as large as he claimed.

Key example: One of his first big outdoor events was in Mobile, Alabama at the city's football stadium, Ladd Peebles Stadium.

The stadium has a listed capacity of 33,471.

Trump originally had planned for an indoor rally, but additional demand required a larger venue so the football stadium was chosen.

Now, when they held the rally, they put the stage at the far end of one of the stadium's end zones. The seats behind Trump were all filled up, as were the seats along the sidelines at the end of the field.

The tight shot of the stage made it look like the stadium was packed:



However, when you looked out the other way, the stands towards the opposite end were completely empty:



So the stadium was really just half full, meaning there were probably about 15,000-17,000 or so people actually in attendance. But because he was cleared for over 33,000 people at the stadium, that's what Trump reported it as. And he made the point over and over and over again as if over 30,000 actually showed up, which they didn't.

But regarding the inaugural, the subdued crowd has a lot to do with the fact that Trump's approval as President-Elect was in the 30%-40% range in most polls, which is astonishing because that's when he should be the most popular. He never bothered uniting the country behind him so there was a lack of enthusiasm for him from anyone who wasn't a fervent fan of his. Also consider the fact he lost the popular vote and the nagging questions about his relationship with Russia, and there was a high amount of people who didn't consider him legitimate at all. Finally, other than the fact he's a lunatic who threatens the country, there was no great historical significance behind his inaugural like there was with Obama's. He's just one of 43 other white guys to be elected President.