Trump’s vets parade plan pushed back
WASHINGTON: The Defence Department says the Veterans Day military parade ordered up by President Donald Trump won’t happen in 2018.
Col Rob Manning, a Pentagon spokesman, said on Thursday that the military and the White House “have now agreed to explore opportunities in 2019’’.
The announcement came several hours after The Associated Press reported that the parade would cost about US$92 million, according to US officials citing preliminary estimates more than three times the price first suggested by the White House.
According to the officials, roughly $50 million would cover Pentagon costs for aircraft, equipment, personnel and other support f or the November parade in Washington. The remainder would be borne by other agencies and largely involve security costs. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss early planning estimates that have not yet been finalised or released publicly.
Mr Mattis himself said late on Thursday that he had seen no such estimate and that whoever leaked the number to the press was “probably smoking something that is legal in my state but not in most’’.
Mr Trump decided he wanted a military parade in Washington after he attended France’s Bastille Day celebration in the centre of Paris last year. As the invited guest of French President Emmanuel Macron, Mr Trump watched enthusiastically from a reviewing stand as the French military showcased its tanks and fighter jets, including many US-made planes, along the famed Champs-Elysees.
Several months later Mr Trump praised the French parade, saying, “We’re going to have to try and top it.’’