After the inauguration, the White House immediately went to war with the press.

Not long after the inauguration, the White House under new President Donald Trump again waged war with the media.

On January 21 (local time), the White House accused the media of publishing "staged" images that reduced the number and level of support of the crowd attending the inauguration ceremony on January 20.

On the night of January 21, new White House spokesman Sean Spicer strongly criticized photos that were circulating on Twitter. These photos showed large empty spaces on the National Mall during Mr. Trump's inauguration.

New White House spokesman Sean Spicer criticized the viral photos of Mr. Trump's inauguration. Photo: Reuters

New White House spokesman Sean Spicer criticized the viral photos of Mr. Trump's inauguration. Photo: Reuters

“This is the largest inaugural audience ever, period. Both personally and internationally,” Spicer said at a press briefing. “These are attempts to dampen enthusiasm for the inauguration. They are shameful and wrong.”

However, according to statistics from the Washington DC government, the 2009 inauguration of former President Barack Obama had the largest attendance ever, with nearly 1.8 million people. Aerial photos show that the number of people attending Mr. Trump's inauguration was clearly lower than in 2009.

Mr. Spicer refused to answer questions from reporters attending the press conference, only confirming that the total area prepared for 720,000 spectators was “full” when Mr. Trump was sworn in. He also confirmed that the management of the square did not provide official figures on the number of attendees: “Nobody has those numbers.”

Mr. Sean Spicer affirmed that Mr. Trump's inauguration had the largest number of attendees ever. Photo: Reuters

Mr. Sean Spicer affirmed that Mr. Trump's inauguration had the largest number of attendees ever. Photo: Reuters

Meanwhile, the Washington DC Metro Authority said that there were about 193,000 people using the system at 11:00 a.m. on January 20 (Eastern time), about an hour before Donald Trump was sworn in.

The number in 2009 was 513,000. At 11 a.m. on January 21, when the anti-Trump protests began in Washington, the number of subway users reached 275,000.

Mr. Spicer also loudly threatened: “There has been a lot of talk in the media about holding President Donald Trump accountable for many issues. It will not be one-sided like that. We will also hold the press accountable for what they write.”

According to PLO