Trump’s military parade on his birthday to be met with nationwide protests

The Army will celebrate its 250th birthday with a military parade through Washington, D.C., on Trump’s birthday, costing an estimated $25-45 million dollars.

On June 14, President Donald Trump will celebrate his 79th birthday. That date also happens to coincide with the 250th birthday of the United States Army. To commemorate the occasion, President Trump has ordered a military parade through the nation’s capital at a cost of between $25 and $45 million dollars, which is inclusive of costs to repair the streets of Washington, D.C., due to the weight of the military vehicles traversing the streets in the parade. 

The last time the United States held a military parade was nearly 34 years ago, on June 8, 1991, dubbed the “National Victory Parade,” to celebrate the conclusion of the Gulf War. Roughly 8,000 Desert Storm servicemembers marched through Washington, D.C., making it the largest military parade in the country since World War II. According to CBS News, Trump’s military parade will include about 6,600 soldiers, 150 vehicles and 50 aircraft. 

The parade is also sparking protests, both in Washington, D.C. and around the country. According to NBC News, a “coalition of pro-democracy, labor and liberal activists is arranging a full day of counterprogramming to make the case that Trump is hijacking the Army celebration to venerate himself.”

Ezra Levin, a co-founder of the progressive group Indivisible said that 1,800 rallies are planned around the country in each congressional district. “The goal here is to deprive Trump of what he wants in this moment, which is a story about him being the all-powerful political figure of our time, and instead create a contrast with normal, everyday people demonstrating that power in this country still resides with the people,” said Levin. 

Another group called Women’s March shared a similar concern as their reason for organizing rallies around the nation. Tamika Middleton, chief political and strategy officer of Women’s March, said, “Nothing feels more absurd than the idea of this president having a massive military parade on his birthday.” 

The criticisms are starting to come from inside the Republican party as well. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky said he wouldn’t have held the parade. 

“We were always different than the images you saw in the Soviet Union and North Korea. We were proud not to be that,” he said. 

Echoing a lot of criticism coming from the Democratic members on Capitol Hill, Democratic senator Tammy Duckworth said, “Trump is throwing himself a $30 million birthday parade just to stroke his own ego.”

Trump has disavowed any knowledge of protests over his parade while pointing out that anybody who does protest will be met with “a heavy force.”