White House counselor Kellyanne Conway came to the defense of White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Sunday, saying he used “alternative facts” to estimate the crowd size at the inauguration.
“You’re saying it’s a falsehood, and they’re giving — Sean Spicer, our press secretary, gave alternative facts to that,” Ms. Conway said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Host Chuck Todd immediately pushed back against that remark.
“Wait a minute, alternative facts?” Mr. Todd said. “Alternative facts? Four of the five facts he uttered were just not true. Look, alternative facts are not facts; they’re falsehoods.”
Mr. Spicer claimed in his first official press briefing on Saturday that the crowd attending President Trump’s inauguration was the largest on record.
“This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period, both in person and around the globe,” he said.
Overhead photos of the event showed a larger crowd at former President Barack Obama’s first inaugural in 2009.
• Bradford Richardson can be reached at brichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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