Military show ignores the costs, critics say
WASHINGTON — The B-2 bomber could cost $700,000. Two F-22 fighters, about $300,000. The Blue Angels demonstration team, close to $320,000. And two F-35 jets, upward of $660,000.
These estimates, based on a conservative analysis using Pentagon flight-cost estimates and other military data about the aircraft, highlight something the Trump administration has left murky as it plans its Independence Day celebration tonight in Washington: how much it will cost.
The aerial review portion of President Donald Trump’s “Salute to America” could cost more than $2 million, as about two dozen aircraft soar by the National Mall in a show of military might.
There’s also the estimated $2.5 million the National Park Service is diverting to cover activities associated with the celebration.
By comparison, according to former Park Service Deputy Director Denis Galvin, the entire Fourth of July celebration on the National Mall typically costs the agency about $2 million.
Rep. Betty Mccollum, D-minn., has promised a congressional hearing on the use of the park money. And there’s the yet-to-bedetermined cost of military activities on the ground, including shipping two M1A2 Abrams tanks on rail cars from Fort Stewart in Georgia along with other armored vehicles that are expected to flank Trump as he speaks at 6:30 tonight at the Lincoln Memorial.
The Pentagon has not provided an estimate for how much the July Fourth celebration will cost the federal government, and an official accounting for it could be complicated.
Tom Crosson, a Pentagon spokesman, said Wednesday that each branch of service will pay for its own aircraft to participate. The costs will be determined after the event is over, he said.
The Pentagon will use creative accounting to handle the assignment. A defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the services will use allotments of training hours from the units involved, muddying the waters on what costs can be counted against the celebration.
Michael O’hanlon, a defense budget expert at the Brookings Institution, said there is some validity to that, but he argued that the Pentagon couldn’t reasonably say the air show is a replacement for training exercises.
“If they’re trying to justify the money, it’s a fool’s errand to say this is just as good as any other training,” O’hanlon said. “To the extent that it can be separated from Trump himself and be turned into a celebration of the country itself, the military maybe boosts its image, but it’s not a one-to-one replacement for other training activities.”
Trump, in a tweet Wednesday, defended the cost of the celebration, saying it will be “very little compared to what it is worth.”
The B-2 Spirit stealth bomber will travel several hours from its home at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, appear over Washington and return without landing, a defense official said. It costs about $140,000 per hour to fly.
The Blue Angels will travel from their base in Pensacola, Florida, and typically send eight F/A-18 Hornets to events in an effort to make sure six are ready to go. Each Hornet costs about $10,000 per hours to fly — a cost that adds up not only during the Salute to America but also in traveling to Washington. A C-130 with the nickname “Fat Albert” also travels with the Blue Angels in a support role, adding another cost.
The defense official, who requested anonymity, said that the Pentagon wasn’t inclined to push back on the requests from the White House. The services often perform flyovers for events such as the Super Bowl and consider doing so healthy for community relations and helpful to recruiting.
“We do this sort of stuff all the time,” the official said.
For some, however, the jets are symbols of wasteful defense spending.
“If the president were trying to highlight some of the most overbudget systems in American military history, he could not have done any better by including the F-35, F-22 and, to a slightly lesser extent, the V-22,” said Dan Grazier, a fellow at Project on Government Oversight, a watchdog group.
Steve Ellis, vice president of the advocacy group Taxpayers for Common Sense, said the jets are “really just a flock of procurement fiascos that will be flying over Washington.”
One “craft” that won’t be flying over Washington is the anti-war group Codepink’s balloon depicting Trump as an angry, diaperclad baby. Because of flight restrictions, officials would not let the group pump it with helium to make it fly higher and be more visible.
Every year, marching bands, drill teams, military units, floats and giant balloons participate in a milelong parade that stretches along Constitution Avenue. The event starts at 11:45 a.m. Another tradition is the free concert on the West Lawn of the Capitol that begins at 8 p.m. PBS will broadcast it, featuring such performers as Carole King, Vanessa Williams, Colbie Caillat, Lee Brice and the O’jays. Then there’s the fireworks show on the Mall at 9:07 p.m., weather permitting.
As for Trump’s speech, Fox News Channel and C-SPAN have both announced plans to televise it. ABC, PBS, CBS and NBC News have all said the event will be shown live on their streaming platforms.