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DC’s local metro system keeps throwing shade at Trump’s inauguration

Apparently, attendance isn’t so hot.

President-elect Donald Trump and America are having a very big day. But the local metro system in Washington, DC, keeps pointing out that this inauguration doesn’t seem to be a very big day for attendance.

As the ceremonies began, DC’s WMATA tweeted that ridership is down compared to 2013, Obama’s second inaugural, and was even lower than 2005, when George W. Bush was being inaugurated for his second term:

This followed similar tweets from earlier in the morning:

There were early signs this would be the case. As local reporter Matt Ackland noted, there were 900 bus permit requests for parking at RFK Stadium (the major city-run parking option for charter buses) before Inauguration Day in 2013, when Obama was sworn in for his second term. For Trump, there were a mere 200 for Inauguration Day, according to the Washington Post — while there are 1,200 for the Women’s March on Washington the day after inauguration.

There are still a lot of people in Washington, DC, particularly at the National Mall and the areas surrounding the Capitol Building. But the National Mall wasn’t yet full the morning of the event. As Trump prepared to take the Oath of Office, wide shots on news networks showed that while there are definitely crowds attending the event, there also is still plenty of place left to stand.


Watch: It’s now on America’s institutions — and Republicans — to check Donald Trump

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