Trump promises ‘unforgettable’ military parade in DC, but who is it for?

Washington, DC – Tanks are coming to the streets of the United States capital.

Twenty-eight 61-tonne Abrams conflict tanks, to beryllium exact, arsenic good arsenic a fleet of 56 armoured Stryker and Bradley warring vehicles, a flock of artillery launchers, 6,600 US troops, 34 horses – positive 2 mules. And a dog.

It is each portion of the subject solemnisation connected Saturday that has been kicked into overdrive by the medication of US President Donald Trump successful caller weeks.

June 14 marks the 250th day of the US Army and, conspicuously, Trump’s 79th birthday. The US president has promised a parade of “thundering tanks and breathtaking flyovers volition roar done our superior city” that volition beryllium simply “unforgettable”.

The lawsuit comes astir six months into Trump’s 2nd term, during which helium has sought to test the limits of statesmanlike powerfulness and his ineligible authorization to employment the subject arsenic instrumentality enforcement unit wrong the US. That was further exemplified successful this week’s deployment of the US National Guard and Marines to protests against his migration policies successful California.

So, who is the assemblage for Trump’s subject parade? And what connection volition it send?

“Obviously, erstwhile truthful overmuch wealth and resources are enactment towards an lawsuit similar a subject parade that coincides with a birthday, it indispensable beryllium for a reason,” Irene Gammel, a prof and historiographer astatine the Toronto Metropolitan University, told Al Jazeera.

“This volition beryllium a grandiose spectacle. It volition beryllium choreographed and it volition beryllium symbolically charged,” she said.

US Army soldiers enactment connected an assortment of M1 Alpha a3 Abrams tanks, Stryker armoured vehicles, and M2 Bradley warring vehicles astatine West Potomac Park on the Potomac River connected June 11, 2025 successful Washington, DC [Andrew Harnik/Getty Images via AFP]

‘America loves a parade’

Trump’s tendency for a flashy subject parade, with US war-fighting hardware connected afloat display, has been good documented. It traces backmost to his attendance astatine France’s 2017 Bastille Day procession, aft which, helium said, “We’re going to person to effort and apical it.”

Various reports person since elaborate the first-term pushback from defence officials, who argued specified a cavalcade would represent an uncomfortable merger of partisan authorities and subject might.

One official, then-Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Paul Selva, adjacent straight warned Trump that specified parades were “what dictators do”, according to a 2022 publication published by Peter Baker and Susan Glasser.

To beryllium sure, according to Barbara Perry, a statesmanlike historiographer astatine the University of Virginia, parades are hardly a rarity successful either US civilian oregon subject culture, regularly planned to people nationalist holidays, section triumphs oregon humanities events. It’s close from the “American songbook”, she added, pointing to the 1932 Harry Richman classic, I Love a Parade.

But, successful summation to the 2 mules and canine – contiguous arsenic portion of the Army’s cavalry division, the procession planned for Saturday stands isolated for respective different reasons.

While showing disconnected subject assets was much communal for presidents during the Cold War, the signifier has not been regularly performed for decades. Similar parades person been typically planned to people US victories, oregon astatine the precise slightest the extremity of involvement, successful overseas conflicts, Perry noted, arsenic was the lawsuit successful the astir caller examination commemorating the extremity of the Gulf War successful 1991.

Preparations proceed for the US Army’s 250th Birthday Celebration and Parade successful Washington, DC [Carlos Barria/Reuters]

Holding a parade connected the president’s birthday, careless of the overlapping Army anniversary, Perry said, besides “tends towards the authoritarian”.

“I consciousness this takes america from a question of much guiltless patriotism to a amusement of subject mightiness that is not lone for enemies abroad, but successful the minds of the administration, those within,” Perry said.

“It further moves towards a cult of property by having it autumn connected the president’s birthday,” she added. “I’m definite immoderate president would person celebrated this day of the founding of the US Army, but not successful this way.”

‘Personal constabulary force’

Already criticised by immoderate observers, including apical Democratic lawmakers and a handful of veterans groups, arsenic a tribute to the “egoist-in-chief”, Trump’s determination this week to deploy the National Guard to the Los Angeles protests without the consent of the state’s governor, and his consequent determination to nonstop the Marines to the city, has formed a agelong shadiness implicit the upcoming pageantry.

Trump has, truthful far, not invoked the Insurrection Act of 1807, which would let the subject to instrumentality nonstop portion successful home instrumentality enforcement. But his actions person already sent a connection of unit that transforms the optics of Saturday’s parade, according to Marjorie Cohn, a prof emerita astatine Thomas Jefferson School of Law successful San Diego and erstwhile president of the US National Lawyers Guild.

Prior to sending Marines to California, Trump had already tapped the subject to enactment his hardline migration policies, including sending Marines to the confederate borderline to enactment national agents.

“Trump considers the US subject to beryllium his idiosyncratic constabulary force, arsenic helium seeks to usage it to ‘secure’ the confederate borderline and suppress home protests against his inhumane policies,” Cohn told Al Jazeera. “He has considered invoking the Insurrection Act, albeit illegally, to facilitate this agenda.”

A subordinate of the US Army Golden Knights parachute squad jumps during their show for the Twilight Tattoo ceremonial arsenic portion of the Army’s 250th Birthday Festival successful Washington, DC [Nathan Howard/Reuters]

Trump’s attack to the subject dovetails with his assertive accent investigating of enforcement power, which helium has sought to usage to alteration some national authorities and civilian society, peculiarly erstwhile it comes to education, healthcare, authorities rights, migrant civil liberties, and trade with overseas partners.

“He is speaking not conscionable to the US, but to the satellite arsenic well,” Cohn said, framing the parade arsenic portion of Trump’s wider ngo to formed “himself arsenic the astir almighty idiosyncratic successful the world”.

For his part, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth indicated the deployment of National Guard troops successful California, which section officials person decried arsenic an unnecessary escalation, could beryllium portion of a wider pivot successful home subject strategy.

“I deliberation we’re entering different phase, particularly nether President Trump with his absorption connected the homeland, wherever the National Guard and Reserves go a captious constituent of however we unafraid that homeland,” Hegseth said during a legislature proceeding connected Tuesday.

Soon after, Trump promised a wide – and muscular – crackdown connected planned constitutionally protected protests connected the time of the parade.

“For those radical that privation to protest, they’re going to beryllium met with precise large force,” Trump told reporters successful the Oval Office, arsenic helium described those who planned to show arsenic “people that hatred our country”.

‘Seizing connected an opportunity’

Amid the criticism, the White House has downplayed the information that Saturday’s spectacle besides falls connected Trump’s birthday. The Pentagon has said determination are nary plans to admit the idiosyncratic milestone oregon to sing Happy Birthday to the president.

White House authoritative Vince Haley antecedently said the programme “will beryllium a fitting tribute to the service, sacrifice, and selflessness of the brave men and women who person worn the azygous and devoted their lives to defending the top experimentation successful liberty known to man”.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Mike Lyons, a retired US Army large and subject analyst, besides sided with the White House’s stance that disapproval of the parade has been overblown.

US Army soldiers enactment connected subject vehicles successful West Potomac Park successful Washington, DC [Andrew Harnik/Getty Images]

“All Trump is doing is seizing connected an accidental to people 250 years of the Army,” Lyons said. “Whether it’s his day oregon not, that’s conscionable a trolling contented for the radical who hatred him.”

Lyons noted that subject instrumentality is regularly enactment connected show astatine events “inside the wire”, utilizing a word for subject bases some successful the US and abroad. He drew a favoritism betwixt the plans for Saturday and the notorious subject parades held successful North Korea, often utilized to unveil different concealed subject advancements.

“It’s not a motion of a dictator trying to task power, due to the fact that we’re not going to beryllium a North Korea and rotation retired the latest equipped missile, there’s nary concealed instrumentality rolling out,” Lyons said.

“It’s conscionable a solemnisation that gives the mean national an accidental to spot what this instrumentality looks similar up close.”

‘The connection is wide enough’

Trump and his medication person besides played down the terms tag of the event, estimated to beryllium betwixt $25m and $45m, but taxable to emergence based connected the harm the subject instrumentality causes to the streets of the capital.

Officials person characterised the spending arsenic successful enactment with the administration’s ambition of cutting spending connected national civilian services, portion surging subject funding, including putting guardant a historically precocious $1 trillion defence budget.

Trump has dismissed the terms tag arsenic “peanuts compared to the worth of doing it”.

Toronto Metropolitan University’s Gammel besides agreed that the parade could person immense value, not successful a commemorative capacity, but arsenic a peculiarly almighty governmental tool.

US President Donald Trump is seen astatine a vessel manufacturing works successful Lima, Ohio, successful 2019 [File: Carlos Barria/Reuters]

The lawsuit is fertile crushed to enactment up not conscionable Trump’s home base, but besides one-time supporters connected the obstruction implicit the divisive archetypal months of his 2nd term, she told Al Jazeera.

Wrapped successful subject imagery considered sacrosanct to galore segments of the US population, the lawsuit volition beryllium ready-made for an online assemblage to deed astatine a “very affectional level”, Gammel said.

Those images volition assistance to “naturalise values not lone astir subject dominance, but besides values that conjoin Trump’s idiosyncratic representation with the subject and with authorities power. That, to me, is peculiarly unsafe successful each of this”.

“At a clip erstwhile we person truthful galore arguable elements being dismantled successful the antiauthoritarian system, each Trump needs to bash is beryllium present,” she added.

“We don’t request to sing Happy Birthday. I deliberation the connection is wide enough”.