‘This will be a great TV’: How Donald Trump gets the military parade he wants

In June 2024, Army Chief of Staff General Randy George and his servants were at the Virginia military base where the service held one of the live-action performances for children and families.

Decades for several decades known as “Twilight Tattoo” were spectacle. The soldiers from the ceremony unit showed back the history of the army, complete with revolutionary warfare, music, theater and military sketches, all intended to function as a kind of respect for the army and their families.

George and his top communication advisor, Colonel Dave Butler, attended several media executives, when one of them bent.

“This will be a good television,” said the executive, according to Butler.

George and his staff have talked about how to celebrate the 250th birthday of the Army. Maybe, they thought, the national park service would let them host one of their live-action performances at the National Mall, officials thought.

After President Donald Trump served and the birthday of June 14 was getting closer, the army began to throw more ideas. One of the ideas is adding tanks or other iconic army equipment to an exhibition parked at the National Mall where tourists can learn about the history of the army in combating the national war.

Butler said he did not remember who was the first to convey the idea of ​​changing the army performance into a parade. But as soon as the idea drifted, it seemed nobody pushed back.

In June, the Army had what plans they would include: 6,700 troops, 150 vehicles, including dozens of tanks, 50 airplanes above the head including World War II aircraft and high -tech weapons such as rocket launchers.

Trump, a former media executive himself, looks like a game. An official involved in planning described it like “knocking on an unlocked door.”

“We want to re -introduce this nation’s troops to the American people,” Butler said. “To do that, we think we have to be in their living room and on their phone. We need something that will attract national attention.”

Criticism of costs

When the Army prepared for its birthday parade in the downtown of Washington on Saturday, not everyone participated. Around 6 out of 10 Americans said that Saturday’s parade was “not a good use” of government money, according to a new poll from the Associated Press-Norc Center for Public Affairs Research.

The White House has not released an estimated parade cost, with only a moving army and equipment that is expected to cost up to $ 45 million. Security is expected to add significantly to the price label.

Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth from Illinois, an Army veteran who was mobilized by Illinois’s national bodyguard during the Iraq war, said the money would be better spent to help troops pay important goods such as child care.

“Donald Trump’s birthday parade has nothing to do with celebrating the 1250th anniversary of the Army – it is to caress his own ego and make taxpayers pay bills,” Duckworth said.

Duckworth and other Trump critics also recorded that military parades are often associated with countries such as Russia and North Korea, where dictators line up the army and their equipment through their paths. Advocates held protests in cities besides Washington – nicknamed “No Kings” protest.

Trump, 79 years old on Saturday, said he wanted a military parade to show how great the country was. The first president of first encouraged the idea in 2017 after attending the Bastille Day parade and celebration in France, saying he wanted to “try and overcome it.” The effort was canceled after the estimated price reached $ 90 million.

When asked Thursday, what he hoped would be remembered by the public about the American parade, Trump said, “How great our country is, very simple, and how strong our military is.”

“We have the strongest military in the world,” he added.

According to the Army officials involved in planning efforts, including Butler, the White House helped plan the Army’s birthday celebration as an event focused on the Army Office to the nation.

At present there are no plans at this time, for example, to sing the president’s birthday. The President was also not expected to speak, leaving many celebrations to the soldiers.

According to the schedule, Trump will watch tanks and soldiers lined up at Constitution Avenue from the spectacle near the White House. Towards the end of the event, he will receive a flag from a soldier who will be parachute to the Elips of the White House. After that, the President will give an oath of registration to around 250 troops.

The event ended with fireworks above the Tidal Basin.

However, there were a number of Trump’s fingerprints at the event. On the last days before the event, the White House made an unusual request. Trump, they said, wanted the Air Force to bring its fighter jets to the Army Party. If the weather is possible, Thunderbirds will now do a flyover.

Deputy Secretary of the White House press Anna Kelly defended the move to let the Air Force participate in the Army’s birthday parade.

“The President wants the Army’s birthday parade to display the strengths, talents and creativity of all members of our military service,” he said in a statement. “The Thunderbirds Flyover will inspire patriotism and admiration for all present!”