Sahara Reporters has drawn attention to former United States President Donald Trump’s bold assertion that his inauguration as the 47th U.S. President set a historic viewership record. Trump claims that an estimated 80.7 million viewers tuned in, allegedly surpassing former President Ronald Reagan’s record of 42 million viewers in 1981.
Taking to his official X handle, @realDonaldTrump, the former president celebrated this milestone, citing data from Streams Charts. According to Trump, the extensive coverage of his January 20 inauguration broke records across digital platforms. He highlighted that the YouTube news section alone reached a new “All Time Viewership Record” with 9.6 million viewers.
In a statement titled “President Donald J. Trump’s Historic Inauguration Sets Viewership Record,” Trump further claimed that the stream of his Inaugural Ceremony on his personal X account amassed a staggering 36.7 million views. Combining these figures with traditional TV audiences, Trump declared an estimated total of 80.7 million viewers, decisively overshadowing Reagan’s decades-old milestone.
“In combination with TV viewership, an estimated 80.7 million viewers watched the President’s inauguration, which beats the previous record of 42 million viewers set by Ronald Reagan’s Inauguration in 1981,” the statement read.
Trump’s assertions have been met with skepticism, with multiple sources disputing the accuracy of his claim. According to Nielsen, TV viewership for Trump’s inauguration stood at approximately 31 million—a figure 19% lower than Barack Obama’s first inauguration in 2009, which drew around 38 million viewers.
Crowd-size experts have also poured cold water on Trump’s narrative, estimating that the physical turnout for his inauguration was significantly smaller than Obama’s. One expert noted that Obama’s crowd was at least three times larger, solidifying doubts about the scope of Trump’s purported record-breaking audience.
Trump’s inauguration committee reportedly spent a record amount on the event, yet specifics about how the funds were allocated remain unclear. Critics argue that despite the unprecedented expenditure, neither the crowd size nor the televised viewership figures aligned with the extravagant costs.
While Trump’s claim of 80.7 million viewers remains unsubstantiated, the role of online streaming cannot be entirely dismissed. Digital platforms like YouTube and social media outlets have revolutionized the way audiences consume major events, potentially inflating overall viewership numbers. However, without concrete evidence to back Trump’s figures, it remains difficult to verify the former president’s claim of shattering Reagan’s long-held record.
This latest controversy underscores Trump’s penchant for grandiose declarations, igniting debates over his reliability as a source of factual information. As critics and supporters alike scrutinize the data, the truth behind the purported record-breaking inauguration remains as elusive as ever
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