Three months after his inauguration, President Trump is still hung up on crowd size. On Thursday morning, Trump lashed out on Twitter at the "failing" New York Times for its photograph of the New England Patriots' visit Wednesday to the White House to celebrate the team's win over the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI.
A side-by-side comparison of photos from the team's 2015 and 2017 visits tweeted Wednesday by The New York Times' sports desk made it appear as though far fewer players showed up to celebrate their Super Bowl win with Trump than with former President Barack Obama:
But it turned out that the 2015 photo included the team's administrative staff, while the photo from Wednesday was of just the players and coaches. The staff was apparently seated on the South Lawn while the photo was being taken.
The Patriots, led by Trump's professed "good friend" Tom Brady and coached by Bill Belichick, another of Trump's pals, also piped up in Trump's defense. The team's official Twitter account clarified Wednesday night that roughly the same number of players were in attendance both years. Becca Stanek