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The Women’s March is double the size of Trump’s inauguration

Approximately 250,000 people went to the inauguration. And 500,000 went to the anti-inauguration protest.

Gloria Steinem, center right, greets protesters at the barricades before speaking at the Women’s March on Washington during the first full day of Donald Trump’s presidency, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017 in Washington. CREDIT: AP Photo/John Minchillo
Gloria Steinem, center right, greets protesters at the barricades before speaking at the Women’s March on Washington during the first full day of Donald Trump’s presidency, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017 in Washington. CREDIT: AP Photo/John Minchillo

President Donald Trump really likes to marvel at the size of the crowds at his events as a way to show himself support. He has said that there would be an “unbelievable, perhaps record-setting turnout” at his inauguration.

That didn’t happen.

Instead, his inauguration events were relatively sparsely attended, especially in comparison to former President Barack Obama’s first inauguration in 2009. About 250,000 people showed up to support Trump, according to crowd count estimates.

Early projections say that twice as many people showed up to protest Trump at Saturday’s Women’s March on Washington. An estimated 500,000 people attended the rally on the day after Trump’s inauguration.

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On Friday, NBC’s Katy Tur recorded a video along Trump’s inauguration parade route that appeared to show empty stands.

In comparison, organizers for Saturday’s protest event requested 1,000 more bus permits than were needed for Trump’s inauguration event. Some people pointed out that the line to get to the march on the National Mall goes on “for blocks.”

Public transportation hubs were also crowded with protesters. D.C. Metro said that 275,000 had ridden the system as of 11 a.m. on Saturday morning. That’s 82,000 more people than had taken the system by the same time the day before, in advance of Trump’s inauguration.

And Washington, D.C. wasn’t the only place to see anti-Trump protests. People in more than 30 other countries marched in solidarity with the Women’s March on Saturday.