President Trump insisted he had the biggest audience in inauguration history in his first TV interview as president and said he wouldn’t allow the media to “demean” the crowds he drew.

“We had a massive crowd of people. We had a crowd — I looked over that sea of people, and I said to myself, ‘Wow.’ And I’ve seen crowds before — big, big crowds. That was some crowd,” Trump said in an interview with ABC’s David Muir. 

And he claimed that his Saturday speech before the CIA sparked “the biggest standing ovation since Peyton Manning had won the Super Bowl.”

{mosads}Trump, whose closest allies have been sparring with the press over crowd size coverage, said he wouldn’t allow the media to “demean” his audience. 

“I won’t allow you or other people like you to demean that crowd or demean the people who came to Washington, D.C., from faraway places because they like me, but more importantly they like what I’m saying,” he said.

“We had the biggest audience in the history of inauguration speeches,” Trump said, seeming to include those watching from home online or on TV.

Trump also boasted about the reception he received at his Saturday speech before the CIA.

“I got a standing ovation,” Trump said. “In fact, they said it was the biggest standing ovation since Peyton Manning had won the Super Bowl, and they said it was equal.

“It lasted for along period of time.” 

Trump described the speech as “a total home run,” but said media outlets “tried to demean” and “downplay” his remarks.

Trump also showed Muir an image of the crowd he hung up in the White House press hall, and made several other references to his inauguration audience throughout the interview.

Trump on inauguration photo: “I would actually take that camera and take your time if you want to know the truth” pic.twitter.com/MrmriVaJTu

— Ethan Klapper (@ethanklapper) January 26, 2017

“This crowd was massive,” Trump said. “I would actually take that camera and take your time if you want to know the truth.”

Trump’s first days in office have been marked by an ongoing spat with the media over how many people attended his swearing-in. Photos comparing his crowd to that of President Obama’s first inauguration quickly spread online, and he bashed media coverage of the comparison. His press secretary, Sean Spicer, also gathered reporters the day after the inauguration and said that Trump’s attendance broke records, setting off a flurry of headlines throughout this week.