The Pentagon has reportedly begun planning a military parade at the request of President Trump.
Trump repeatedly has expressed an interest in holding a display of America’s military might and upped his calls for a parade after witnessingthe Bastille Day celebrations on a trip to France last summer.
The Washington Post reported Tuesday that at a recent meeting between Trump and top military officials, Trump’s wishes were “suddenly heard as a presidential directive.”
“The marching orders were: I want a parade like the one in France,” one military official told The Washington Post on the condition of anonymity. “This is being worked at the highest levels of the military.”
Officials told the Post that they do not yet know how they will cover the cost of the parade, which could reach millions of dollars.
Trump reportedly wanted to include tanks and missile launchers in his Inauguration Day parade. An inauguration team source said at the timethat the team was “legit thinking Red Square/North Korea-style parade.”
Military officials were reluctant about the inauguration team’s desires, and the team ultimately decided not to move forward.
He then told French President Emmanuel Macron that he was considering having a military parade on Independence Day, saying that he wanted “a really great parade, to show our military strength.”
Presidential historians told The Washington Post that a parade “smacks of something you see in a totalitarian country,” and also warned that it could evoke nationalism instead of patriotism or could even stoke further tensions with North Korea.
The White House official pushed back on those warnings, saying it would be “the opposite” of totalitarian, because it would be a “celebration of the men and women who give us freedom,” but also said it would be designed as a demonstration of America’s strength and a “warning” to the country’s enemies.
http://thehill.com/homenews/adminis...anning-grand-military-parade-for-trump-report
Trump repeatedly has expressed an interest in holding a display of America’s military might and upped his calls for a parade after witnessingthe Bastille Day celebrations on a trip to France last summer.
The Washington Post reported Tuesday that at a recent meeting between Trump and top military officials, Trump’s wishes were “suddenly heard as a presidential directive.”
“The marching orders were: I want a parade like the one in France,” one military official told The Washington Post on the condition of anonymity. “This is being worked at the highest levels of the military.”
Officials told the Post that they do not yet know how they will cover the cost of the parade, which could reach millions of dollars.
Trump reportedly wanted to include tanks and missile launchers in his Inauguration Day parade. An inauguration team source said at the timethat the team was “legit thinking Red Square/North Korea-style parade.”
Military officials were reluctant about the inauguration team’s desires, and the team ultimately decided not to move forward.
He then told French President Emmanuel Macron that he was considering having a military parade on Independence Day, saying that he wanted “a really great parade, to show our military strength.”
Presidential historians told The Washington Post that a parade “smacks of something you see in a totalitarian country,” and also warned that it could evoke nationalism instead of patriotism or could even stoke further tensions with North Korea.
The White House official pushed back on those warnings, saying it would be “the opposite” of totalitarian, because it would be a “celebration of the men and women who give us freedom,” but also said it would be designed as a demonstration of America’s strength and a “warning” to the country’s enemies.
http://thehill.com/homenews/adminis...anning-grand-military-parade-for-trump-report
