The New York Times trolled Trump on his Patriots crowd size, but the Patriots didn't find it funny

President Trump hosts the New England Patriots

(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

last updated 20 April 2017

The New York Times' sports section had a little fun at President Trump's expense on Wednesday, tweeting out an obvious reference to the side-by-side photos of Trump's and former President Barack Obama's inauguration crowd sizes:

Trump — who was so enraged by the suggestion that his inaugural crowd was visibly smaller than both of Obama's that he made trying to debunk that fact Press Secretary Sean Spicer's very first order of business — hosted the Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots, on Wednesday. Now, the entire team really was not there — quarterback Tom Brady had to bow out at the last minute and several other players did not attend because they don't care for Trump's policies — but the New England Patriots want everybody to know that the few absences are not the reason Obama's Patriots crowd photo is bigger than Trump's.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox