The president was previously forced to abandon plans for a procession in Washington, D.C., due to its colossal price tag.
    • pleasegoaway@lemm.ee
      2·
      5 days ago

      If enough people show up wearing all black, like it’s a funeral, and boo the entire time, my heart would swell with pride.

  • werefreeatlast@lemmy.world
    18·
    7 days ago

    Sounds like a perfect opportunity for a surprise bday protest. Imagine everyone doing as expected one minute and then suddenly all the signs for freedom of speech expression go up in glorious unison! The bigliest bday protest ever!

  • melsaskca@lemmy.ca
    3·
    6 days ago

    “Let’s put on a parade for this great leader” as opposed to “I want a parade!” (for a greatly, less great leader).

    • Corhen@lemmy.world
      3·
      6 days ago

      President Donald Trump is making plans for a military parade in Washington, D.C., on his 79th birthday, according to a report.

      A source in the capital told the Washington City Paper that Trump has earmarked June 14—which is the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army—for the event.

      The display of military might will march around four miles from the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia, to the White House, the D.C. source told the publication.

      The report said that local officials are only now hearing of plans for the parade and that no formal request has been made for their assistance.

      D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser estimated the parade plans are in their “early stages,” adding that either the Department of Homeland Security or White House reached out to the district’s special events task force, reported Fox News.

      Arlington County Board Chair Takis Karantonis told the City Paper that the White House had given the county a “heads up” about the parade on Friday, with only 10 weeks until the event. The White House told Fox that “no military parade has been scheduled” for Trump’s birthday, but stopped short of saying outright there would not be one.

      He said “the parade’s scope ” was “unclear” and that no firm details were disclosed.

      Trump said in his first term that he would like to see tanks as part of a parade on Pennsylvania Avenue. Bowser said she did not want to see military tanks on the streets of Washington unless it received millions in extra funding.

      “Military tanks on our streets would not be good,” Bowser said. “If military tanks were used, they should be accompanied with many millions of dollars to repair the roads.”

      Other unnamed officials told the paper that a big military parade will require a huge amount of coordination between the six branches of the armed forces, along with several federal agencies and regional officials.

      D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office and the White House did not immediately respond to the Daily Beast’s requests for comment.

      President Trump previously pushed for a grand military parade in 2018 during his first term in the White House but was stymied by estimates the event would cost $92 million, according to the Associated Press.

      The event had been slated to include tanks, fighter jets, and historic military planes.

      The plans emerged after Trump’s 2017 visit to France where he witnessed the Paris Bastille Day celebrations which included displays of heavy military machinery. Trump said the U.S. is “going to have to try and top” the French display, according to the AP.

      When that parade failed to materialize, Trump pushed for tanks to be displayed in D.C. during Independence Day celebrations in 2019. The inclusion of military vehicles in the “Salute to America” pageant contributed to the event costing taxpayers over $13 million—double the cost of previous celebrations, according to Politico.

      No tanks were included in the same event the following year.