President Donald Trump might finally be getting what he’s always wished for: A militarized birthday party.
According to newly unearthed planning documents obtained by The Associated Press, Trump’s birthday could coincide with a sprawling military display in Washington, D.C. The plans, which have not been publicly released, reportedly call for 6,600 soldiers, at least 150 military vehicles, 50 helicopters, seven bands, and potentially thousands of civilians.
A defense official confirmed to CBS News that the Army is planning for a potential parade tied to Trump’s 79th birthday on June 14—the same day as the Army’s 250th anniversary. Among the hardware: Bradley and Stryker fighting vehicles.
While technically part of the Army’s long-planned semiquincentennial celebration on the National Mall, the full-blown military parade would be a new addition. And for Trump, the timing is suspiciously perfect.
Bradley fighting vehicle
The White House has previously denied that any such parade was in the works, and an Army spokesperson told the AP that no final decision has been made. Still, Army official Col. Dave Butler admitted that the Army is “excited” about the plans.
“We want to make it into an event that the entire nation can celebrate with us. We want Americans to know their Army and their soldiers. A parade might become part of that, and we think that will be an excellent addition to what we already have planned,” Butler said.
Trump has long lusted after a grand military show of force, pitching the idea back in 2018 after he saw a military parade in France—only to have it shelved due to its jaw-dropping $92 million price tag.
But now, with the Army’s anniversary conveniently aligned with his birthday and the so-called Department of Government Efficiency slashing everything else—or at least trying to—the stars may have finally aligned.
While the latest plans didn’t include price estimates, it’s hard to square Trump’s extravagant birthday bash with his administration’s supposed war on government waste. He’s slashed agency budgets, frozen university grants, gutted public media, and punished institutions that don’t submit to his ideology. Yet, somehow, there’s still room in the budget for a self-glorifying military parade.
Kids can deal with having fewer toys, he said, but the president gets tanks and fireworks.
Especially now, with a shaky economy and reports that even members of his own Cabinet are stockpiling goods in anticipation of sky-high prices from his trade war, the costs could exceed the 2018 estimate.
As the AP notes, much of the equipment would need to be flown or shipped in by train—another multimillion-dollar tab. Then there’s the added cost of feeding and housing thousands of service members for the event.
Related | Trump plans grotesque military parade for his 79th birthday
Early plans for the Army’s 250th anniversary included troops and some hardware, but officials have confirmed that parade-specific discussions only began in recent weeks. The full event, which would reportedly be designated a national special security event, would end with a concert and fireworks.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser confirmed in April that the administration reached out to the city about the potential June 14 parade, which would stretch nearly four miles from the Pentagon to the White House. But she said that hosting such a spectacle wouldn’t be a good look.
“Military tanks on our streets would not be good. If military tanks were used, they should be accompanied with many millions of dollars to repair the roads,” she said at the time.
In short: Trump wants to throw himself a multimillion-dollar birthday party and call it “patriotism”—all while gutting vital government programs and punishing institutions that don’t serve his personal agenda. How pathetic.
Campaign Action
