Tag: military parade

Pentagon, GOP breathe sign of relief after Trump cancels parade

The following article by Rebecca Kheel was posted on the Hill website August 17, 2018:

The Pentagon is off the hook — at least for the time being — for planning President Trump’s display of military might down Pennsylvania Avenue.

Trump cancelled his desired military parade after its $92 million price tag leaked to the media, blaming D.C. officials for the high cost and saying he’d attend a parade in Paris and one at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland instead.

The cancellation lifts a burden off the Pentagon, which would have had to divert resources for a parade as it works to recover from what it has described as a readiness crisis.

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Trump Paris-Bound in November to Watch a Military Parade Instead

The following article by Niels Lesniewski was posted on the Roll Call website August 17, 2018:

President Trump and first lady Melania Trump attend the traditional Bastille Day military parade in Paris last year. Credit: Chesnot, Getty Images

President Donald Trump plans to go to Paris in November to celebrate the Armistice Day, rather than hosting his own military parade in Washington, D.C.

Trump tweeted that he would also, “attend the big parade already scheduled at Andrews Air Force Base on a different date.”

Any plans for a military parade in the United States have been postponed until at least 2019. Trump blamed the high cost of the previously-envisioned military parade on local officials in Washington, D.C.

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Trump cancels military parade, blaming DC for cost

The following article by John Bowden was posted on the Hill website August 17, 2018:

President Trump on Friday said that he was canceling plans for a military parade, blaming a $92 million price tag and local politicians in Washington, D.C.

The cost of the parade had appeared to be escalating, with reports on Thursday estimating it would be $80 million more than previously estimated at a time of rising debt.

Trump said “local politicians” in D.C. were responsible for the cost in announcing the cancelation, though he offered no specific evidence.

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Pentagon may delay Trump’s military parade, originally slated for November, to next year

The following article by Missy Ryan and Dan Lamothe was posted on the Washington Post website August 16, 2018:

President Trump and first lady Melania Trump attend the traditional Bastille Day military parade in Paris ins 2017. Credit: Chesnot, Getty Images

The Trump administration may delay a military parade slated for this fall, the Pentagon said Thursday, amid questions about the event’s increasing cost.

Col. Rob Manning, a Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement that the parade, which President Trump ordered this year as a tribute to American military might, could take place next year.

“The Department of Defense and White House have been planning a parade to honor America’s military veterans and commemorate the centennial of World War I,” Manning said. “We originally targeted November 10, 2018 for this event but have now agreed to explore opportunities in 2019.”

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For the cost of Trump’s military parade, we could get eight months of Mueller’s probe

The following article by Philip Bump was posted on the Washington Post website July 19, 2018:

President Trump and first lady Melania Trump attend the Bastille Day military parade in Paris last year. Credit: Chesnot, Getty Images

Reporting from CNN finally puts a price tag on President Trump’s long-sought “military parade” emulating the one he enjoyed in France last July. But before we get to that number, let’s contextualize it with some other costs largely unique to Trump’s administration.

We will start with a vacation in Scotland.

For you or me, a trip to Scotland would cost a few thousand dollars, maybe, depending on how fancy we got. When the president of the United States goes on a trip, though, he brings a substantially larger entourage than you do. His trip to Scotland last week, therefore, cost almost $70,000, money paid to the lucky proprietor of the hotel where he stayed. (It was a Trump Organization property; the proprietor was, indirectly, Trump.)

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Military parades are about ego and power. Of course Trump wants one.

The following article by Ishaan Tharoor was posted on the Washington Post website February 8, 2018:

It’s unclear whether President Trump will get the military parade he so keenly desires. My colleagues first reported Tuesday that the White House is pushing the Pentagon to stage a grand spectacle down Pennsylvania Avenue in the same vein as France’s Bastille Day parade — which Trump not coincidentally attended and admired last year. In the same week we heard the president call his political opponents “treasonous” for not clapping at the State of the Union address, we now contemplate his excitement for the sort of martial display these days more associated with single-party states and irredentist autocrats.

Trump, who fondly refers to “my generals” and espouses a decidedly militarist agenda, now thinks it’s his turn. “We’re all aware in this country of the president’s affection and respect for the military,” Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Wednesday. “We have been putting together some options. We will send them up to the White House for decision.” Continue reading “Military parades are about ego and power. Of course Trump wants one.”

Trump forces Pentagon to throw him a parade after his relentless attacks on troops

The following article by Matthew Chapman was posted on the ShareBlue website February 6, 2018:

After years of insults and disrespect for Americans in uniform, Trump will be the first president since George H. W. Bush to throw a military parade for his enjoyment.

Carolyn Kaster, AP Photo

Donald Trump, who has never shied away from defying American norms for the sake of his own ego, is planning to put on a spectacle that would typically be more at home in China or North Korea: a military parade.

According to the Washington Post, the Pentagon is, at the behest of Trump, planning a massive demonstration of U.S. military power on our own streets.

One White House official says the plan “highlights the service and sacrifice of the military and have a unifying moment for the country.” As the Post notes, though, Trump’s real motivation may be envy at the display put on by French President Emmanuel Macron on Bastille Day, which led him to demand a Fourth of July parade last year. Continue reading “Trump forces Pentagon to throw him a parade after his relentless attacks on troops”

Donald Trump orders Pentagon to plan military parade to rival pomp and ceremony of France’s Bastille Day

The following article by the Foreign Staff of the Telegraph was posted on their website February 7, 2018:

Donald Trump admires a military parade in Paris last year Credit: AFP

Donald Trump has asked for a large-scale military parade, an unconventional move that has drawn comparisons between the US President and dictators such as Kim Jong-un.

Mr Trump – who has long toyed with the idea of a parade in Washington that would showcase American muscle and underscore his role as commander-in-chief – made the request to top Pentagon officers, who are looking for a date.

“President Trump is incredibly supportive of America’s great service members who risk their lives every day to keep our country safe,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said. Continue reading “Donald Trump orders Pentagon to plan military parade to rival pomp and ceremony of France’s Bastille Day”

Trump’s ‘marching orders’ to the Pentagon: Plan a grand military parade

The following article by Greg Jaffe and Philip Rucker was posted on the Washington Post website February 6, 2018:

The Pentagon and White House are planning a military parade requested by President Trump, breaking with U.S. tradition. (Elyse Samuels/The Washington Post)

President Trump’s vision of soldiers marching and tanks rolling down the boulevards of Washington is moving closer to reality in the Pentagon and White House, where officials say they have begun to plan a grand military parade later this year showcasing the might of America’s armed forces.

Trump has long mused publicly and privately about wanting such a parade, but a Jan. 18 meeting between Trump and top generals in the Pentagon’s tank — a room reserved for top-secret discussions — marked a tipping point, according to two officials briefed on the planning. Continue reading “Trump’s ‘marching orders’ to the Pentagon: Plan a grand military parade”