30 minutes later he corrected "perade" and reposted.
The Army's 250th anniversary parade was commandeered by Donald Trump for his birthday.
The weirdest stuff I saw was a soldier carrying a drone above his head and a Boston Dynamics robot dog marching alongside troops.
Advertising was on the video panels at Trump's viewing stand. Sponsors were Coinbase, Amazon, Planatir, and UFC. This was supposed to be about the 250th Anniversary of the Army. Really. We need advertising?
Troops had to march down Constitution Avenue as Army brigades from the colonial army to the present. All in costume. All not in step.
"So about that fascist military parade" diary has good clips and a comparison of North Korea troops and the ones at the parade.
The dreaded tanks rolled on by. I didn't see chunks of pavement fly, but you know they did damage. Wheeled vehicles, no problem. But, the tanks were supposed to be just displayed at the National Mall. Stationary. Trump decided the tanks needed to roll past him.
There were marching bands, who did better marching in unison than the troops.
The air show started with paratroopers in the rain landing in various places. One had a flag with him that was folded into the traditional triangle for a soldier who has passed away and he was seen running to have it presented later to Trump. There were flybys of WWII fighters and bombers that could barely be seen through the overcast and rain. Might not have been safe to fly those in bad weather. They're tough to maintain, and there was the 2022 Dallas airshow where a fighter and a bomber collided and crashed.
There were people there to honor the Army and their family members who had served. Trump wasn't a thought. But the crowd cheered him at obvious times. No protesters to be seen. There were some people with signs, but we didn't get a chance to see them.
On Fox News, they had two hosts that babbled way too often. I can't critique because I had to turn off the sound. The background around them, and a shot of them with the parade side by side, was fireworks in a loop. Extremely annoying when there was no reason for it.
After the parade, Trump did a voice over on a video about the Army. JD Vance gave remarks before Trump. It was also Vance's wedding anniversary. Then it was time for Trump to speak live.
Trump starts his speech with his latest spin since he made the WWI and WWII Victory Days holidays, that we won the wars, but we don't celebrate.
Trump tried to give a history lesson about wars and the US Army. It just never works coming out of the mouth of a draft dodger. He spoke with such low energy it was monotonous.
Throughout the parade, except for times he stood up and saluted, he was hunched over, looking fat, with a droopy face. He just did not look happy. Maybe he wasn't pleased with the performance. But he never let that on with his own review.
Then there was music before the fireworks. But people were leaving early even before Trump gave the history lesson.
Reviews of the parade on anything but Fox News were negative.
On MSNBC, U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Steve Anderson (Ret.) said, "It was a colossal waste of time, effort and money we don't need. That's not who we are. We don't do these kinds of things. We don't March down the streets like that. We prove ourselves and our value as an army, our strength as an army by our actions, not parades. That's something that dictators do." He then complained about the three days of street shutdowns preparation caused. "And to think about what we could do with that money if we had it instead. ... Donald Trump already stole $1 billion from MILCON, for military construction, for the southern border. I mean, so there's barracks that are not being renovated, child care centers that are not being built. There are perks that soldiers and families and their families deserve."
There was so much news during the day, that except for Fox News, the parade was an afterthought. The political targeted killings in Minnesota, the war between Israel and Iran, and coverage of the 2,000 No Kings Day protests nationwide. These all overshadowed the parade in importance.
Trump is being soundly criticized for his politicization of the military. The National Guard and Marines he sent to Los Angeles after the days where there was violence and looting, only to arrive in a peaceful setting and generate unrest with their presence.
His highly partisan and political speech at Fort Bragg where he got handpicked Army troops to boo at the mention of President Biden and exhorted them to call Gov. Newsom, Newscum. This speech was absolutely disgusting. I covered this in "Trump's scary speech at Fort Bragg and Newsom's inspiring one."
There is now a threat to all states that Trump could commandeer their National Guard without the Governor's approval. Armed forces can be used against citizens. ICE is running wild with raids, now supported by the military.
Trump's parade is still another sign of a failed presidency that he keeps hoping will get good reviews from those not in the right wing echo chamber. He's never going to get them.
