A Visual Comparison of Washington D.C. During the Inauguration and the Women's March

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 22 January 2017

Yesterday, Donald Trump was sworn in as President of the United States. And today, thousands of people descended on D.C. for the Women's March on Washington. One of these things was a high-profile political event and one was a grassroots movement, and in some pictures, it's a little hard to tell which was which.

Inauguration Day:

Women's March:

Metro's numbers confirm that more people rode this morning than Friday morning.

Metro Ridership: As of 11am, 193k trips taken so far today. (11am 1/20/13 = 317k, 11am 1/20/09 = 513k, 11am 1/20/05 = 197k) #wmataJanuary 20, 2017

Metro Ridership as of 11am: 275k. For comparison, that's more than 8x a normal Sat & even busier than most weekdays. #wmata #womensmarchJanuary 21, 2017

And by this afternoon, Metro reported almost 600,000 rides, with "heavy crowds" at stations.

Metro ridership as of 4 p.m. = >597k with heavy crowds entering the system at all downtown stations. #wmataJanuary 21, 2017

And pictures from around the Capitol the morning of each event:

Inauguration Day:

Winter, Crowd, Headgear, Jacket, Pedestrian, Audience, Hood, Fence, Freezing, Dome,

Women's March:

Crowd, People, Winter, Social group, Hat, Mammal, Pink, Public space, Headgear, Audience,

And these pictures from around D.C.:

Inauguration Day:

Winter, Leisure, Public space, Tourism, Ice, Freezing, Flag, Ice rink, Pedestrian, Ice skate,

Motor vehicle, Land vehicle, Crowd, Car, Luxury vehicle, Bumper, Pedestrian, Bench, Sport utility vehicle, Flag,

Women's March:

People, Crowd, Arch, Pink, City, Public space, Protest, Public event, Bridge, Arcade,

Crowd, People, Event, Pink, Magenta, Interaction, Public event, Protest, Audience, Pedestrian,

Crowd, People, Event, Pink, Mammal, Flag, Mascot, Public event, Protest, Government,

Pictures from 12:15pm ET on each day:

Inauguration Day:

Urban area, City, Residential area, Metropolitan area, Neighbourhood, Town, Property, Infrastructure, Landscape, Suburb,

Women's March:

Nature, City, Residential area, Metropolitan area, Urban area, Town, Neighbourhood, Property, Suburb, Landscape,

CNN posted these pictures from EarthCam and they offer the most complete picture of the differences in the crowds at the inauguration and the Women's March on Washington. Both pictures were taken at 12:15pm—about 15 minutes after Trump was sworn in and when the march was in full swing.

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Kayleigh Roberts is a freelance writer and editor with over 10 years of professional experience covering entertainment of all genres, from new movie and TV releases to nostalgia, and celebrity news. Her byline has appeared in Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, The Atlantic, Allure, Entertainment Weekly, MTV, Bustle, Refinery29, Girls’ Life Magazine, Just Jared, and Tiger Beat, among other publications. She's a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.