During his tenure as White House press secretary, Spicer made a number of public statements that were controversial or false,[6][7][8] and he developed a contentious relationship with the White House press corps.[9][10][11] The first such instance occurred on January 21, 2017, the day following Trump's inauguration. Spicer repeated the claim that crowds at Trump's inauguration ceremony were the largest ever at such an event and that the press had deliberately under-estimated the number of spectators.[12][13][14] After this statement was widely criticized, Trump aide Kellyanne Conway said that Spicer had presented what she called "alternative facts" regarding the inauguration's attendance numbers.[15]