I want a parade too!
Trump so loved military show on French trip he’s ordered his own
DONALD Trump has issued orders for America’s first major military parade in more than 25 years.
The US president has told Pentagon chiefs to draw up plans for a huge event in Washington — inspired by a parade he saw in Paris last year.
After watching horseback troops ride down the Champs-d’Elysees as jet fighters roared overhead to mark Bastille Day on July 14, he said: ‘It was one of the greatest parades I’ve ever seen. We’re going to have to try and top it.’
It will be the first show of military force in the streets of the US since the Gulf War victory parade in 1991.
But such a spectacle, usually only staged in Washington after triumph in war, will be seen by some as provocative at a time of nuclear tension with North Korea.
Others criticised the plan as evidence of creeping authoritarianism, and compared it to the displays staged by dictatorships such as Kim Jong-Un’s. The demand has provoked criticism – and derision – from Mr Trump’s Democrat rivals. ‘We have a Napoleon in the making here,’ warned Congressman Jackie Speier. ‘I say it’s a fantastic waste of money to amuse the president,’ added Senator Dick Durbin.
‘Take the money that the President would like to spend on this parade and instead let’s make sure our troops are ready for battle and survive it and come home to their families.’
Military veteran and Democrat senator Tammy Duckworth mocked Mr Trump over his own deferments from military service during the Vietnam War, blamed on ‘bone spurs’ on his feet.
‘We don’t live in a dictatorship or a monarchy,’ she said. ‘I swore an oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, not to mindlessly cater to the whims of Cadet Bone Spurs.’ Leading members of Mr Trump’s own Republican party also questioned the plan.
Congressman Lee Zeldin of New York said: ‘ I don’t believe we should have tanks or nuclear weapons going down Pennsylva- nia Avenue.’ White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said: ‘President Trump is incredibly supportive of America’s great service members who risk their lives every day to keep our country safe. He has asked the Department of Defense to explore a celebration at which all Americans can show their appreciation.’
Pentagon spokesman Charlie Summers said officials were ‘looking at options’.
Mr Trump made no secret of his awe for the pomp and ceremony of last year’s Paris parade, which also marked 100 years since America entered World War One.
He watched as massed ranks of France’s Republican Guard filed past on horseback and military jets staged a fly-past. He warmly greeted President Emmanuel Macron on his arrival in an opentopped military jeep.
Months later, Mr Trump said: ‘We’re actually thinking about Fourth of July, Pennsylvania Avenue, having a really great parade to show our military strength.’
The 1991 Gulf War parade drew huge crowds as missiles and tanks rolled through Washington, but President George H.W. Bush was also pilloried by Democrats.
John F. Kennedy’s presidential inauguration featured a parade with missiles, while Dwight Eisenhower’s parade in 1953 included an atomic cannon.
‘We have a Napoleon in the making’