Trump cancels $92M parade
D.C. mayor ‘got thru to reality star in White House’
WASHINGTON— President Donald Trump said Friday he had canceled plans for a Veterans Day military parade, citing the “ridiculously high” price tag — a day after U.S. officials said the November event could cost $92 million, more than three times the price first suggested by the White House.
Trump on Twitter accused local politicians of price-gouging.
But preliminary estimates from the Pentagon showed that $50 million would cover military aircraft, equipment, personnel and other support. The remainder would be borne by other agencies and involve security costs.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser shot back Friday on Twitter that she was the one who “finally got thru to the reality star in the White House with the realities ($ 21.6M) of parades/ events/demonstrations in Trump America (sad).”
The Defense Department had announced Thursday there would be no parade in 2018.
Trump tweeted that perhaps something could be scheduled next year when the price “comes WAY DOWN.”
He did not explain how the costs would be reduced.
Trump said he would instead attend an event at Andrews Air Force Base on another day and travel to Paris for Nov. 11 events The military parade was to include troops from all five armed services as well as units in period uniforms. marking the centennial of the end of fighting in World War I.
The president said, “Now we can buy some more jet fighters!” He did not offer additional details.
Col. Rob Manning, a Pentagon spokesman, said Thursday that the military and the White House had “agreed to explore opportunities in 2019,” an announcement that came several hours after reports about the projected parade price tag.
The Associated Press reported that the parade would cost about $92 million, according to U.S. officials citing preliminary estimates more than three times the price first suggested by the White House. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss early planning estimates that have not yet been finalized or released publicly.
Officials said the parade plans had not yet been approved by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.
Mattis said late Thursday that he had seen no such estimate and questioned the media reports.
The Pentagon chief told reporters traveling with him to Bogota, Colombia, that whoever leaked the number to the media was “probably smoking something that is legal in my state but not in most” — a reference to his home state of Washington, where marijuana use is legal.
Mattis, who spoke before the announcement that the parade would not happen in 2018, said, “I’m not dignifying that number ($92 million) with a reply. I would discount that, and anybody who said (that number), I’ll almost guarantee you one thing: They probably said, ‘I need to stay anonymous.’ No kidding, because you look like an idiot. And No. 2, whoever wrote it needs to get better sources. I’ll just leave it at that.”
The parade’s cost has become a politically charged issue, particularly after the Pentagon canceled a major military exercise planned for August with South Korea, in the wake of Trump’s summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Trump said the drills were provocative and that dumping them would save the U.S. “a tremendous amount of money.”
The Pentagon later said the Korea drills would have cost $14 million.
Lt. Col. Jamie Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, said earlier Thursday that Defense Department planning for the parade “continues and final details are still being developed. Any cost estimates are pre- decisional.”
The parade was expected to include troops from all five armed services — the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard — as well as units in period uniforms representing earlier times in the nation’s history.
The parade also was expected to involve a number of military aircraft flyovers.