Watch Trump at CIA Headquarters: 'Looked Like a Million People' at His Inauguration

McLEAN, VA -- While hundreds of thousands of people marched against him Saturday across the nation, President Donald Trump disputed turnout figures at his inauguration Friday, saying a million or a million and a half people filled the National Mall.

Trump, in remarks made at the CIA headquarters in Langley, Va., disputed the attendance numbers at his inauguration, as media reports estimated that as many as 250,000 people may have attended Friday at the National Mall, a figure the new president said "was a lie."

Trump made his remarks about crowd estimates on a day that saw hundreds of thousands protest his presidency around the country and around the world.

Due to the difficulty in accurately assessing crowd estimates for large events, most notably following 1996’s Million Man March, the National Park Service no longer makes it a practice to provide crowd estimates for permitted events. "While we make internal estimates for staffing, security and emergency response purposes, it is left to the discretion of event organizers to make a determination of the event attendance," a spokesman said.

Although it's hard to confirm numbers, CNN said they confirmed Washington Post numbers from Metro on full inaugural day ridership:

• Trump: 570,500
• Obama 2009: 1.1 million
• Obama 2013: 782,000

Later Saturday afternoon, after Trump's visit to the CIA, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters in a tense televised White House briefing that "this was the largest audience period" for any presidential inauguration.

Trump and Spicer did not address Saturday's marches across the country.

At the inauguration Friday, Trump said: "...we had a massive field of people, and they [the media] show an empty field," Trump complained. "When I looked, it looked like a million, a million and a half people. And they [the media] showed a field where there were hardly any people."

"We caught them [the media] in a beauty," he said.

Trump said he came to CIA headquarters Saturday in Langley, Va., "as his number one stop" in part to tamp down any rumors that he was having a feud with the agency, which he said was reported by the media.

"They [the media] are among the most dishonest people on earth," he said. "They made it sound like I had a feud with the intelligence community." Trump also attended a prayer service Saturday with his family at Washington National Cathedral.

The New York Times reported that intelligence agencies are examining intercepted communications and financial transactions as part of an investigation into possible links between Russian officials and associates of Trump, including former campaign chairman Paul Manafort.

At the CIA, Trump also brought up his inaugural address, which was widely panned. "Did everybody like the speech?" he asked to applause in the room.

Standing in front of a wall full of stars, possibly the CIA Memorial Wall, representing CIA employees who have died, Trump also told CIA employees that he had been on the cover of Time magazine more than anyone in history; Time magazine disputed that Saturday afternoon, saying President Richard Nixon holds that record.

"Sometimes you haven't gotten the backing that you wanted," Trump told the CIA employees, adding that the military and law enforcement and "probably everybody in this room" voted for him.

"Radical Islamic terrorism has to be eradicated off the face of the earth, this is evil," he said. "...there can be wars against countries, but this is a level of evil that we haven't seen. And you're going to go to it and you're going to do a phenomenal job, and you're going to end it, it's time to end it."

"We're all on the same wavelength," he told the CIA employees. "We have not used the real abilities we've had. We have to get rid of ISIS we have no choice," he said to applause.

"I love you, I respect you, there's nobody I respect more and we're going to start winning and again and you're going to lead the charge," he told the room. Cameras weren't allowed to pan the CIA crowd, but White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said on Twitter that the crowd was at 300-plus.

Also in attendance Saturday was Vice President Mike Pence, who introduced Trump and Mike Pompeo, Trump's pick to lead the CIA. A Kansas congressman and former Army officer, he holds degrees from West Point and Harvard.

"You are going to be getting a total star, a gem," Trump said. "You'll see. And many of you know him anyway. If I had to name the most important this would be in some ways my most important."

The Democratic National Committee quickly reacted to Trump's remarks Saturday, saying:

"After he finished ranting about crowd sizes on the National Mall, I hope President Trump sat down for an interview with the CIA to help with their investigation into his team's possible collusion with the Kremlin to win the election," said DNC Senior Advisor Zak Petkanas. "Next, he can sit down with the FBI who have sought warrants to monitor his team for the same reason."

PHOTO: Patch photo of Donald Trump by Gage Skidmore