President Donald Trump’s pledge to exert US power around the world is being tested in Europe and the Middle East, but this weekend offers him a chance to display that power on American soil.
Trump, who’s celebrating his 79th birthday on Saturday, is 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 a Black Hawk helicopter. Also planned are historic reenactments, state-of-the-art military technology and a flyover with the Air Force Thunderbirds. The Army is marking its 250th anniversary with a companion all-day event on the National Mall.
The parade is expected to cost $45 million, an estimate that includes potential damage to major District of Columbia streets from heavy tank treads.
The US last celebrated its military strength in 1991 after the first Gulf War. The only other such events celebrated the end of the Civil War and World Wars I and II. While Democratic 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 his seizing control of California’s National Guard and deploying US Marines to quell protests over immigration raids in the state. An appeals court is allowing him to continue their use over the weekend as a lawsuit from Governor Gavin Newsom is considered.
Across the globe, Trump’s exertion of US influence and power has been repeatedly stymied.
Few US trade deals have been notched since his April 2 “Liberation Day” announcement. Israel and Iran traded missile strikes on Friday, jeopardizing US talks with the Tehran government over its nuclear program. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Israel acted “unilaterally.” Hours later, Trump linked the strikes to the talks, demanding that Iran return to the discussions.
Despite a promise to end the war in Ukraine on “Day 1,” Trump has failed to push Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table and both sides are waging increasingly audacious attacks. European leaders are moving away from relying on the US and seeking other means of aiding Ukraine.
Back home, the Washington parade will be flanked by at least 200 “No King” protests nationwide to defy what organizers call Trump’s brand of authoritarianism. Millions are expected to participate from New York and Chicago to Milwaukee and Los Angeles.
Trump on Monday referred back to the 2020 protests over the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, and suggested he would handle such incidents differently in his second term.
“There’s so many different places where we let it burn, we wanted to be politically correct, we wanted to be nice,” he said.
“Those people that want to protest, they’re going to be met with very big force,” Trump said this week. “And I haven’t even heard about a protest, but, you know, this is people that hate our country, but they will be met with very heavy force.”
Trump has been eager to host a military parade ever since attending a Bastille Day parade in Paris during his first term. City officials in Washington warned that heavy military vehicles could damage city streets, and the price tag became a political liability.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
