Trump Parade Displays Military Power Amid National Protests

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump’s military parade kicked off 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. Most Read from Bloomberg Shuttered NY College Has Alumni Fighting Over Its Future Trump’s Military Parade Has Washington Bracing for Tanks and Weaponry NYC Renters Brace for Price Hikes After Broker-Fee Ban As Part of a $45 Billion Push, ICE Prepares for a Vast Expansion of Detention Space Do World’s Fairs Still Matter? 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 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.” 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 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,” he wrote in a post on Truth Social Saturday morning. A flood watch is 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 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 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. The “No Kings” protest was initially called to protest Trump’s turning the 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. Story Continues The day started grimly, with two Democratic Minnesota lawmakers being shot, one fatally, along with their spouses by a man who had a “No Kings” flier in his car.

And in Texas, state troopers arrest a person who threatened state lawmakers who planned to attend the protest. 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. (Updates with Trump comment in third paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek American Mid: Hampton Inn’s Good-Enough Formula for World Domination The Spying Scandal Rocking the World of HR Software New Grads Join Worst Entry-Level Job Market in Years As Companies Abandon Climate Pledges, Is There a Silver Lining? US Tariffs Threaten to Derail Vietnam’s Historic Industrial Boom ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. View Comments