There’s another kerfuffle about crowd size surrounding the president.
On Wednesday, the Super Bowl-winning New England Patriots visited the White House to meet U.S. President Donald Trump.
As is the tradition, there were plenty of photo opps, including a group photo.
then tweeted the group shot photo and compared it to the 2015 shot, which also featured the Patriots.
Patriots%27 turnout for President Obama in 2015 vs. Patriots%27 turnout for President Trump today:
Some players declined to visit the controversial president. Star quarterback Tom Brady, a friend of Trump, also missed the event, saying he had to attend to family issues.
Upon a quick glance, it looked like there were fewer people in the 2017 shot, but the Patriots quickly pointed out that the comparison lacked a key piece of information.
These photos lack context. Facts: In 2015, over 40 football staff were on the stairs. In 2017, they were seated on the South Lawn.
“These photos lack context. Facts: In 2015, over 40 football staff were on the stairs. In 2017, they were seated on the South Lawn,” the team tweeted from its official account.
Trump, who appears to have a love-hate relationship with what he has called the “failing” , was quick to weigh in.
Failing , which has been calling me wrong for two years, just got caught in a big lie concerning New England Patriots visit to W.H.
“Failing @nytimes, which has been calling me wrong for two years, just got caught in a big lie concerning New England Patriots visit to W.H.,” the president tweeted from his @realDonaldTrump account.
Later in the day, the ' sports editor issued an apology.
NYT Sports editor gave me a pretty effusive statement on that Trump/Patriots-crowd-size-comparison tweet: