I attended both the Inauguration and the Women's March in D.C. this weekend. As I posted on Inauguration Day, the crowds were surprisingly small. I've read estimates if 250,000, and although I had a limited perspective and am no expert, that feels about right to me. Spicer is correct that it took quite a while to get through security. When I left, right after Trump's motorcade went by, there were still a few hundred people waiting to get in. But the idea that hundreds of thousands of people tried to get in but couldn't is complete fantasy. This photo is one I took while I was standing at Pennsylvania Avenue and 8th Street NW and listening to Trump's Inaugural address as it was being broadcast over loudspeakers minutes after noon. The Inaugural parade went from the Capitol to the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue, so this photo was taken right on the parade 3/4 of a mile west of the Capitol, at about the halfway point of the parade. There were access points to both sides of Pennsylvania Avenue. I was on the north side. As you can see very clearly in this photo, there were almost no people on the south side of Pennsylvania, and the viewing grandstands were empty. (There weren't many folks on my side if the street, either.) The Women's March, by contrast, filled the entire mall and all the avenues and side streets in the Federal District. EASILY four or five times the crowd at the Inaugural. Any statement that the Inauguration was the biggest in history or exceeded the size of the Women's March is an utter, and purposeful, lie.

My first day as a citizen (hopefully a very poor one) of Trumpworld began here in D.C. with "Let me in!" and ended with "Let me out!" Took me two hours to get through a security pat down and get to Pennsylvania Avenue. My first disappointment was discovering that barricades did not allow me near the Bikers For Trump rally, where they had formed a self-described Wall of Meat to protect the new President. The crowds were very small, even with the insane security hurdles. Split slightly in the protesters' favor. (At least in my section.) Listened to Trump's extremely disturbing speech (you could almost see the flying monkeys launching into the slate-grey sky from the Capitol dome) over a loudspeaker. Waited in the cold for another two hours for the parade and was finally treated to a very brief glimpse of four black SUVs abreast, inside one of which was the new President. There were two hours of parade left, but everyone regardless of persuasion streaked for the few exit points, which were quickly clogged. All in all, a grim, sobering day. Very much looking forward to joining friends at tomorrow's Women's March. Given the muted attendance today, that event has the potential to outdraw the Inaugural. Take heart, people!