Trump asks Pentagon to explore plans for a military ‘celebration’
US President Donald Trump has expressed a desire for a massive military parade showcasing America’s strength since before he even took office. Now, it appears his vision is inching closer to becoming a reality.
Trump asked the Pentagon to get the ball rolling on plans for a military “celebration,” the White House confirmed on Tuesday.
“President Trump is incredibly supportive of America’s great service members who risk their lives every day to keep our country safe,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said. “He has asked the Department of Defense to explore a celebration at which all Americans can show their appreciation.”
Army Col. Robert Manning, a Pentagon spokesman, told USA TODAY: “We are aware of the request and are in the process of determining specific details.”
At a January 18 meeting at the Pentagon with senior military officials, Trump’s idea became a “presidential directive,” The Washington Post reported, citing unnamed officials.
“The marching orders were: I want a parade like the one in France,” one unnamed official said, according to the Post. “This is being worked at the highest levels of the military.”
Pentagon spokesman Charlie Summers told CNN the planning is in its “infancy.”
The parade in France Trump was reportedly referring to was a Bastille Day parade he attended with President Emmanuel Macron on July 14, 2017, in Paris. The parade included tanks, soldiers in gleaming helmets astride horses and jets flying overhead.
When Trump met with Macron at the United Nation General Assembly two months later, he said it was one of the “greatest parades I’ve ever seen.”
“We’re going to have to try to top it,” Trump told the French president.
“We are actually thinking about Fourth of July, Pennsylvania Avenue, having a really great parade to show our military strength,” he said.
The idea of a military parade down Washington’s Pennsylvania Avenue came to Trump before the Bastille Day parade, however. He first mentioned the idea in an interview with the Washington Post two days before his inauguration.
“Being a great president has to do with a lot of things, but one of them is being a great cheerleader for the country,” Trump told the newspaper. “And we’re going to show the people as we build up our military, we’re going to display our military.
“That military may come marching down Pennsylvania Avenue,” he said. “That military may be flying over New York City and Washington, DC, for parades. I mean, we’re going to be showing our military.”
And as far back as 2011, Trump was promoting the idea of parades to honor American service members.
(USA Today/TNS)