New England Patriots

President Donald Trump stands with New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, left, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, right, and members of the New England Patriots during a ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, April 19, 2017, where he honored the Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots for their Super Bowl LI victory.

(AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The New England Patriots are taking issue with a New York Times photo comparison that suggested a significantly smaller turnout for a Super Bowl celebration at the White House with President Donald Trump than one two years ago with President Barack Obama.

The Times on Wednesday tweeted an Associated Press photo of the Patriots standing behind Obama on the south side of the White House in 2015. Stairs on either side of the main group were filled with people. The tweet compared it with a Times photo taken Wednesday showing both staircases empty.

These photos lack context. Facts: In 2015, over 40 football staff were on the stairs. In 2017, they were seated on the South Lawn. https://t.co/iIYtV0hR6Y — New England Patriots (@Patriots) April 20, 2017

The Patriots responded on Twitter that the photos lack context, saying football staff sat on the South Lawn instead of standing on the stairs this year.

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. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 20, 2017

The Times tweeted an update saying that the Pats told them fewer players attended this year, but the total delegation was about the same.