Spicer earns Four Pinocchios for false claims on inauguration crowd size

By Glenn Kessler January 22 at 11:40 AM

“This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration — period — both in person and around the globe.”
—White House press secretary Sean Spicer, remarks to reporters, Jan. 21, 2017

“I looked out, the field was — it looked like a million, million and a half people.”
—President Trump, remarks to the CIA, Jan. 21, 2017

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The Facts

Spicer, in his tongue-lashing of reporters, offered little evidence to back up his claims — and what he did say was wrong. He did not respond to requests for additional information, either via Twitter or email.

“This was the first time in our nation’s history that floor coverings have been used to protect the grass on the Mall. That had the effect of highlighting any areas where people were not standing, while in years past the grass eliminated this visual.”

False. Floor coverings were first used in 2013. It’s actually astonishing a White House press secretary would get such a basic fact wrong in a prepared statement from the podium. A simple Google search would have helped.

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“We know that from the platform where the president was sworn in, to 4th Street, it holds about 250,000 people. From 4th Street to the media tent is about another 220,000. And from the media tent to the Washington Monument, another 250,000 people.”

Spicer appears to imagine that simply because a space can hold this many people, this many people attended the inauguration. But there is ample evidence that the crowd on Friday did not extend to the Washington Monument.

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The Pinocchio Test

This is an appalling performance by the new press secretary. He managed to make a series of false and misleading claims in service of a relatively minor issue. Presumably he was ordered to do this by Trump, who conjured up fantastic numbers in his own mind, but part of a flack’s job is to tell the boss when lies are necessary — and when they are not.

Spicer earns Four Pinocchios, but seriously, we wish we could give five.



Full article:
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=.75ef915b9207&wpisrc=nl_evening&wpmm=1