Trump warns media will pay for ‘lie’ over inauguration crowds

DONALD TRUMP has warned a “big price” will be paid by reporters who allegedly lied about the size of the crowds at his inauguration ceremony.

The president hit out at reports that considerably fewer people turned out to watch him take the oath of office than at Barack Obama’s first inauguration.

Pictures on social media appeared to show acres of empty space on the National Mall where an estimated 1.8 million people stood to see his predecessor in 2009.

However, Mr Trump’s team said that his was “the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration” and slammed the reports as “shameful”.

Speaking at the CIA headquarters in Virginia on his first full day in office, Mr Trump said the reports did not reflect the scene from his vantage point on Capitol Hill.

“We had a massive field of people, you saw them – packed. I get up this morning, I turn on one of the networks and they show an empty field,” the president said.

Mr Trump did not give a figure on the total turnout, but criticised one network for reporting that just 250,000 people showed up to watch the ceremony.

“That’s a lie,” said Mr Trump, adding: “So we caught them. And we caught them in a beauty. And I think they’re going to pay a big price.”

White House press secretary Sean Spicer attempted to address the discrepancy in the figures on Saturday.

“This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration – period,” he said.

Mr Spicer told reporters that the area between the Capitol building and the Washington Monument held approximately 720,000 people.

“All of this space was full when the president took the oath of office,” Mr Spicer said.

But US media outlets reacted with outrage.

The New York Times said Mr Trump’s team had made “false claims” while a CNN headline read: “White House press secretary attacks media for accurately reporting inauguration crowds”.