--- title: Trump Inauguration: Crowd Smaller Than Obama's description: A side-by-side comparison of the crowds at President Obama and President Trump's inaugurations reveals that Trump's crowd is much smaller. canonical: https://time.com/4641381/donald-trump-inauguration-crowd/ author: Eliana Dockterman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-01-20T19:30:33.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:42:00.096Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Trump's Inauguration Crowd Doesn't Look Like Barack Obama's Did in 2009 og:description: Side-by-side images reveal Obama's crowd was much larger og:url: https://time.com/4641381/donald-trump-inauguration-crowd/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt99aad7606d99eedf/6988b66b2dce016adb9ebf7b/obama-wd-trump-inauguration-crowd-comparison.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: obama-wd-trump-inauguration-crowd-comparison og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Trump's Inauguration Crowd Doesn't Look Like Barack Obama's Did in 2009 twitter:description: Side-by-side images reveal Obama's crowd was much larger twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt99aad7606d99eedf/6988b66b2dce016adb9ebf7b/obama-wd-trump-inauguration-crowd-comparison.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Trump's Inauguration Crowd Doesn't Look Like Barack Obama's Did in 2009 > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Donald Trump Takes the Presidential Oath [Watch (HLS stream): Donald Trump Takes the Presidential Oath](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/F7LToUNX.m3u8) (0:47)  _Published 2017-01-20. Donald Trump is sworn in as the 45th president of the United States._  by [Eliana Dockterman](https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Correspondent Jan 20, 2017 7:30 PM UTC  A composite image shows the inauguration crows for Barack Obama in 2009, left, and Donald Trump in 2017. A composite image shows the inauguration crows for Barack Obama in 2009, left, and Donald Trump in 2017.Emily Barnes—Getty Images; Lucas Jackson—Reuters  by [Eliana Dockterman](https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Correspondent Jan 20, 2017 7:30 PM UTC A side-by-side comparison of the crowds at former [President Barack Obama](http://time.com/4631137/president-obama-farewell-speech-highlights/) and [President Donald Trump](http://time.com/president-donald-trump-inauguration-day-photos/)‘s respective inaugurations reveals that Trump’s crowd isn’t as large as he boasted it would be. Two aerial photographs of the National Mall from the two historic days reveal large patches of white ground exposed during Trump’s ceremony, spaces crowds had filled during Obama’s 2009 inauguration. The pictures were taken around the same time during the day, Trump’s at 11:04 a.m. and Obama’s at 11:30 a.m. Federal and local agencies [estimated](http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Trump-Inauguration-Crowd-Estimates-410559995.html) 700,000 to 900,000 people would be in Washington, D.C. for Trump’s inauguration on Friday, roughly half the number of people who attended Obama’s first presidential inauguration. Obama’s second inauguration also drew more people, approximately 1 million. However, the media will not know exactly how many people attended Trump’s inauguration until a final count is released in a few weeks. Still, the pictures stand in stark contrast to Trump’s [assurances](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/09/movies/trump-meryl-streep-golden-globes-speech.html) to the _New York Times_ that his inauguration would draw an “unbelievable, perhaps record-setting turnout.” The images quickly went viral on social media with “The Mall” trending on Twitter. ### See Photos From Every Presidential Inauguration LIFE Magazine Ever Covered  A view of the inauguration ceremony of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1937. Thomas D. McAvoy—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Third inauguration ceremony of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941. Thomas D. McAvoy—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Fourth inauguration ceremony of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945. George Skadding—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Harry S. Truman riding with Vice President Alben Barkley during the Presidential Inauguration parade, 1949. George Skadding—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Eisenhower Inaugural, 1953. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  President Dwight D. Eisenhower and the first lady, riding in a car during the Inaugural ceremonies. 1957. Paul Schutzer—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  President John Kennedy and wife Jacqueline during the Inauguration Day Parade, 1961. Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Lyndon Johnson giving the inaugural address at his inauguration. First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson is seated to his right, 1965. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  President Richard M. Nixon's inauguration, 1969. 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