You can read Trump’s full presidential inauguration speech here. The crowd It was the size of the crowd that many remember most about Trump’s controversial rise to power. Trump had claimed that more than 1.5 million supporters crowded onto the National Mall to watch him take the oath of office. He falsely claimed his inauguration audience was the largest on record. The president had reportedly been angered by photos suggesting crowds were bigger for Barack Obama's 2009 inauguration. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE At left, an image from the 2009 inauguration of US President Barack Obama on the National Mall in Washington, DC. At right, the image of President Donald Trump's inauguration in 2017.