When Donald Trump announced his candidacy for president, not many people gave him a realistic chance at success. While Trump was able to win the election, his current favorable rating is at historic lows, and it was reflective in the crowd that showed up to watch him be sworn in.
Trump inauguration
At the Republican National Convention last summer, Donald Trump surprised many by being able to beat out 16 other candidates and win the party's nomination. That moment was thought to be the highlight of his brief political career, as a general election challenge to Hillary Clinton was seen as too much to handle.
While many thought Clinton would break the glass ceiling and become the first female president in American history, Trump shocked the world and became the new president-elect. On Friday morning, the former host of "The Apprentice" was officially sworn in as president, but did so in front of a crowd that was less than impressive, as reported by CBS News on January 20.
The crowd is about one-third the size of the crowd at President Obama's first inauguration, but it's still a good sized crowd.-@bobschieffer
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) January 20, 2017
Over 1.2 million people attended the inauguration of Barack Obama in 2009, marking it one of the largest crowd in history. Nearly as many were there after Obama was reelected in 2012, with an impressive crowd showing up in the nation's capital in January 2013.
After Donald Trump was announced the big winner on Election Day, he vowed to bring out a record crowd for his own inauguration.
Here’s a crowd comparison of Trump’s inauguration with Obama’s https://t.co/JVoYWqpwru pic.twitter.com/aSoajVPn1B
— BuzzFeed (@BuzzFeed) January 20, 2017
As former "Face the Nation" host Bob Schieffer reported, "The crowd is about one-third the size of the crowd at President Obama's first inauguration, but it's still a good sized crowd." Buzzfeed and other news outlets then produced comparison shots, showing the dramatic difference between the Obama inauguration, and the Trump inauguration.
Donald Trump’s inauguration crowd compared to Barack Obama’s https://t.co/vgInjMidqK
— The Independent (@Independent) January 20, 2017
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With Donald Trump now the new president, the direction of American policy is expected to shift in quickly. With Republicans now in control of the White House and Congress, the policies of President Obama over the last eight years could be rolled back, putting pressure on congressional Democrats to work together to prevent further damage. With Trump is now in the White House, opposition to his administration and agenda is only expected to grow.
