How Many People Attended Trump’s Inauguration vs. Obama’s? [PHOTOS]

Hundreds of thousands of people show up for Trump’s inauguration. (Getty)

Today, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th President of the United States. There has been a lot of controversy about his presidency, including many performers who would not participate in his Inauguration concert and at least 60 Democrats who are boycotting his inauguration. But how were the numbers who attended his swearing-in ceremony as compared to former President Barack Obama in 2009 and 2013? Despite rumors that Trump’s inauguration had among the lowest turnouts in history, tha’ts just not true. Yes, Obama did bring in more people. Obama’s first inauguration was about double the number of people who attended Trump’s today. But Trump’s inauguration eclipsed the number who attended George W. Bush’s, and even far exceeded the number who attended Bill Clinton’s second inauguration.

Here’s what you need to know.

Obama’s First Inauguration in 2009 Was Attended by More than 1.8 Million

Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th US president by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts in front of the Capitol in Washington on January 20, 2009. (Getty)

Obama’s first inauguration was attended by a huge number of people: more than 1.8 million, CNN reported. This was a huge number of people, eclipsing the previous record of 1.2 million set by Lyndon B. Johnson’s 1965 inauguration. This is also about double the number of people who showed up for Trump’s inauguration today.

Obama’s Second Inauguration in 2013 Was Attended by About 1 Million

President Barack Obama waves to spectators after his speech at the ceremonial swearing-in at the U.S. Capitol during the 57th Presidential Inauguration on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol January 21, 2013. (Getty)

Early estimates for Obama’s second inauguration put the number at 500,000 to 700,000, CBS reported. But the White House, citing an inaugural official, later said that about one million people had shown up in person in 2013 to watch his inauguration. This is more than showed up for Trump’s inauguration. However, if current estimates of 900,000 end up being accurate, then it’s not a lot more.

Donald Trump’s Inauguration Was Attended by about 900,000, According to Early Estimates

President Donald Trump delivers his inaugural address on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2017. (Getty)

Today, officials are estimating that Donald Trump’s inauguration was attended by about 900,000 people. However, an official tally has not  yet been released. We will post the official number here when it’s available.

Earlier in the morning, the numbers for Trump’s attendance were looking smaller than they ended up being. DC Metro estimated that there were about 193,000 for Trump’s inauguration at a time when, in 2013, there were 317,000 for Obama’s second inauguration, and at the same time in 2009, there were 513,000 people. Trump’s numbers did end up growing, but they did not match the number who showed up for Obama’s inaugurations.

Planners had estimated a maximum of about 900,000 expected, Fox 25 reported. Homeland Security placed the number at about 800,000 to 900,000 expected. The inaugural committee, meanwhile, had estimated about 700,000 people would watch the inauguration.

Bill Clinton’s Second Inauguration Was Attended by 250,000 People

President Bill Clinton is sworn in 20 January on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC for his second term as US president. His second inauguration had among the lowest attendance in recent history. (Getty)

As an interesting note of contrast, Bill Clinton’s inauguration in 1993 was attended by 800,000 people and his inauguration in 1997 was attended by 250,000. George Bush’s inauguration in 2001 was attended by 300,000 and his 2005 inauguration was attended by 400,000. So Trump’s inauguration appears to have been attended by more people than attended either of George W. Bush’s inaugurations or who attended Bill Clinton’s second inauguration.

Stephanie Dube Dwilson is a news, entertainment & science/tech contributor to Heavy. She’s also a featured cat blogger, runs a post-apocalyptic blog, and is a guest writer for a number of publications. In her spare time, Stephanie writes screenplays and novels about sci-fi mysteries. You can follow her on Twitter at @StephanieDube or contact her by email here.
January 20, 2017 1:57 pm