US President Donald Trump’s military parade on Saturday took place in Washington with a 21-gun salute, tanks and troops, as well as helicopters and parachutists, as protesters in hundreds of US cities demonstrated against his use of executive power.
Trump, who was serenaded by the crowd for his 79th birthday, was the driving force behind the parade down Washington’s Constitution Avenue — which runs behind the White House — that includes a muscular exhibition of 6,600 soldiers, Abrams tanks, Bradley Fighting Vehicles and helicopters. The US Army marked its 250th anniversary with a companion all-day event on the National Mall.
“Every other country celebrates their victories,” Trump said in a speech after the approximately two-hour parade. “It’s about time America did, too. That’s what we’re doing tonight.”
Photo: AFP
The parade is expected to cost US$45 million, an estimate that includes potential damage to major District of Columbia streets from heavy tank treads.
The parade went on amid the threat of thunderstorms.
“OUR GREAT MILITARY PARADE IS ON, RAIN OR SHINE. REMEMBER, A RAINY DAY PARADE BRINGS GOOD LUCK,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social on Saturday morning.
Photo: AFP
A flood watch was in effect for the Washington region through Saturday evening.
The US last celebrated its military strength in similar fashion in 1991 after the first Gulf War. The only other such events celebrated the end of the US Civil War and World Wars I and II. While then-US president John F. Kennedy included military displays in his 1961 inaugural parade, such exhibitions are more common in authoritarian countries such as Russia, China and North Korea. Longtime US ally France also marks its annual Bastille Day with a military parade.
Previous parades in the US came in moments of national unity and patriotism about victories overseas. By contrast, Trump’s parade coincides with protesters, civil rights groups and labor unions in hundreds of cities across the US staging peaceful demonstrations against his use of executive action to move his agenda.
Photo: Reuters
The “No Kings” protest was initially called to protest Trump’s turning the US Army’s birthday celebration into an expansive show of military hardware. It gained urgency after federal immigration raids in Los Angeles sparked protests and political strife between Trump and Democratic leaders.
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