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Trump’s Military Parade Idea Sets Up Democrats for Another Fall
Trump was inspired by the Bastille Day parade he attended last summer in Paris.
President Trump and the Pentagon are quietly planning a grand military parade to roll through Washington DC later this year:
The inspiration for Trump’s push is last year’s Bastille Day celebration in Paris, which the president attended as a guest of French President Emmanuel Macron. Trump was awestruck by the tableau of uniformed French troops marching down Avenue des Champs-Elysees with military tanks, armored vehicles, gun trucks and carriers — complete with fighter jets flying over the Arc de Triomphe and painting the sky with streaks of blue, white and red smoke for the colors of the French flag.
Aboard Air Force One en route home from Paris last July, aides said Trump told them he was dazzled by the French display and said he wanted one at home.
It was still on his mind two months later when he met with Macron on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
“It was one of the greatest parades I’ve ever seen,” Trump told reporters. “It was two hours on the button, and it was military might, and I think a tremendous thing for France and for the spirit of France.”
Seated next to Macron, Trump added: “We’re going to have to try to top it.”
Military parades like this are uncommon in recent history, but certainly not unheard of. Presidents Truman and Kennedy featured military hardware in their inaugural parades. Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton had fighter jets scream through the sky for their inaugurations. The elder Bush also had a DC military parade to celebrate victory following the Gulf War.
The Washington Post broke this story about 90 minutes ago and, ever since, social media has exploded in outrage.
A man who dodged the draft 5 times, from an entire family of people who never served, making the military give him a parade. And we're paying for it. Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting.
— Sarah Cooper (@sarahcpr) February 6, 2018
One step closer to the autocracy. All hail #KimJongTrump. https://t.co/SmbQSHRITq
— Leonard Pitts, Jr. (@LeonardPittsJr1) February 6, 2018
Spoiled rich boy demands he be able to play with his toys if he can’t even use a small nuke for fun. The good people of a once proud nation continue to watch and hope this doesn’t end in dictatorial rule. https://t.co/ctchQfOjyL
— Ian Livingston (@islivingston) February 6, 2018
Things that dictators do… https://t.co/W2bCn5eskS
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) February 6, 2018
Since this is Trump’s idea, I think we all know how it will go down. Nearly everyone from political and media castes will deride the parade, comparing Trump to Hitler. In an effort to impress their woke friends, several prominent voices will go too far by savagely denigrating the military itself. Then the American people will be polled and we’ll find out that they like the idea.
It’s the NFL protests all over again.
I’m a veteran who’s not thrilled about a big parade. Everyone on earth knows that America has the biggest, baddest military the world has ever seen — we don’t need to brag. And with a $20 trillion debt, I’d rather the money not be spent on chest-beating hoopla. But the average American doesn’t care about our shaky finances and adores our military.
A grand military display is poor economics, but I predict it will be smart politics heading into the midterms. Trump is once again Lucy from Peanuts setting up the football and the press is Charlie Brown, falling tail over tea kettle into another puddle of mud.
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Published in Military, Politics
I actually kind of like it.
Having participated in more than one ceremony and marching parade, its kind of neat that there might be a military parade that wasn’t to emptier bleachers than a little league game where both teams disappoint their fathers.
There is a difference between making government smaller and making government suck.
Does feel familiar, doesn’t it?
Yes it will cost a bundle, Jon, and your point above is correct. I also think, however, that we’re sending an important message to our military: even though Congress is screwing around with the military budget, and we have to recover from major cutbacks, we value and support you.
Who are those people and why did Twitter give ’em blue check marks?
Um, besides that … Cool! A parade I might actually watch!
It was celebrated in the first week in April.
Be fun to be there. If I was planning, I’d have some A-10’s come screaming over at low altitude and high speed.
The military should feel appreciated already. It’s the most respected institution we have and deservedly so, but they shouldn’t need a parade to get their spirits up.
We are going to have close to an 800 billion dollar deficit this year and the economy is in the middle of an expansion. So we’re going to throw a parade that costs millions of dollars? For what purpose?
Am I the only former band member who loved being in the parades through the year? And being a spectator at the superlatively turned out and proud members of the parades I was not in? Isn’t our military too separated from the rest of the country as it is? Why not a reminder that there is strength and pride and capability working on our behalf. Macy’s got nothin’ on the USMC when it comes to parades!
You know, I’d rather see our military families get a bonus, or improve the situation of struggling vets.
Now, if this is going to be connected with Veterans day, and be all over the country in hubs near to where veterans live, I say, have a giant picnic.
I don’t think the military hardware needs hoopla, but our men and women in uniform deserve us not to waste precious funds.
On the other hand, I was in Paris in days leading up to Bastille Day, and the modern and historical planes flying up the Seine was a pretty powerful sight and sound.
I thought how difficult for any who had lived during the war, for them to hear planes flying low and close.
There was always this military parade held in D. C. a little while back:
No doubt accompanied by this song:
Come to think, maybe it is time for the Deplorables to dust that song off again and set out to liberate the slave (Blue) states . . .
I love a parade.
https://youtu.be/4b5phblXXlA
How about putting that parade money toward fixing the VA?
The 4th of July is on a Wednesday this year. I think I have my excuse to visit the East coast this summer with my boys. (Flying from Southern Oregon). They are 13 and 11, and would LOVE it.
I don’t know if there’s enough money to fix the VA, @drusus.
I loved the small town Memorial Day parade of my childhood. I’m all for that and for more fuss and celebration on the Fourth of July. I think there should be more done on Veteran’s Day to pray for and thank soldiers, and to remember people who gave their lives for this country.
I’d love a parade to remember some of the history our country has survived, with uniforms and equipment from the different wars. But, of course, we can’t have that because treating the uniforms, songs and battle flag of the Confederacy with respect would be labeled “hate” and “racism”. And leaving any memory of the Confederacy out of such a parade would be genuinely hateful and historically inaccurate, to say the least.
I don’t want anything like the Bastille Day parade. That kind of strutting is more like Europe and Russia.
The A-10 doesn’t have high speed. That’s what makes them the best piece of equipment in the sky. :)
Well, when members of your family are injured and sick, you don’t throw a party. You devote energy and resources into helping heal them or make them comfortable.
Whatever a military parade would cost should become placeholder to heal and comfort our vets.
@Trump, why don’t you, or someone on your team, read Ricochet…we’ve got good ideas.
If the Dems were smart, instead of denigrating the military during the proposed parade, they’d instead hammer home the point about our failing VA. Sad.
I agree. But those are local. Trump would do better to encourage communities to create low cost local celebrations. So easy to connect them with technology.
I agree, military parade strutting is not something I’ve ever felt was part of my life as an American.
Servicemen and women and Vets, riding in trucks, receiving the accolades of friends and neighbors.
Not some military parade with a giant penis of a missile that you see from North Korea, Russia, China, etc.
America and her Military find strength in the PEOPLE who use their heart and smarts wisely, supported the hardware.
Well, A-10’s are a little faster than Wizard of Oz’s Miss Gulch, on her bicycle. LoLz.
The majority of the VA employees making it fail vote Democrat. The Democrats are not going to attack their own base.
So, would Trump do a bait and switch…suggest a parade, the flip it all toward the VA? that doesn’t seem his style…but I could get behind something like that!
Comment # 20 is exactly how I feel.
This makes me so sad…our vets are essentially held hostage by deep state Dems embedded in the VA?
What’s the occasion? Trump saw the French have a parade and he wants one too?
He gets that the military isn’t a play thing, right?
And I get to pay for him to have this parade?
Everybody remember this when Trump talks about the military being underfunded.
I likey.
Maybe we can throw some history in it too so that the press can denigrate veterans as well.
We live in a military town (Colorado Springs). We’ve had some stellar Veteran’s Day parades with Blackhawk and Apache helicopter flyovers. Our wide boulevards and quaint downtown with the mountain backdrop are the perfect venue. Mr. C’s father is an Airborne Ranger Korean War combat vet and also served in Vietnam. He managed to get into his uniform with his beret and medals for the last time probably 15 years ago.
I cry with pride every time. It’s not uncommon to see soldiers who are obviously moved by the love and gratitude expressed by people along the route.
You want an expression of national unity? Have a parade, Mr. President.
I say go heavy on good bands and maybe choirs. Military drill teams. A few pieces of awesome equipment for visual interest coupled with a flyover (A-10s seem to get a lot of support on this site). Some communities in this area have parades on Memorial day or Veterans’ Day with lots of fire engines. They are cool n’at, but I get saturated with them and the diesel exhaust after a while. (No offense to our fine local fire companies.) I think I would get tired of rows and rows of military equipment as well.
Ok. WC, I understand your point. It is more about the people, though ill agree the flying hardware is cool.
But I do see more of a simulcast, with many locations.