President Trump might lastly be getting a blowout parade — and on his birthday, no much less.
Washington, DC, officers have been in talks with the Trump administration about holding a grand parade on June 14 — which is the Military’s 250th anniversary, in addition to the president’s 79th birthday, Mayor Muriel Bowser stated Monday.
Planning for the parade remains to be “early stages,” however the procession is predicted to begin in Arlington, Va. on the Pentagon and span the four-mile stretch to the White Home, in line with particulars from Bowser and the Washington Metropolis Paper.
“I understand that I think it was Homeland Security; maybe the White House reached out to our special events task force, which is what most people wanting to do a parade do in the district,” Bowser informed reporters Monday.
“So I would say it’s at its early stages. Yes, they have reached out.”
DC has a staff referred to as the Mayor’s Particular Occasions Process Group (MSETG), which coordinates the planning of main actions within the metropolis.
Bowser didn’t specify the precise purpose for the parade, saying she hasn’t been “directly involved in it yet” and was uncertain whether or not it was even technically a “military parade.”
A White Home official informed The Publish that as but, “no military parade has been scheduled.”
Trump has lengthy set his sights on a blockbuster army parade in DC. Throughout planning for Inauguration Day throughout his first time period in 2017, he wished tanks and different army automobiles to parade the streets of the nation’s capital.
In the end, that was shot down by metropolis officers attributable to fears concerning the harm to infrastructure. Tanks and different army {hardware} have been placed on show across the nation’s capital as a compromise throughout his first inauguration.
However Trump’s need for an extravagant parade by no means satiated.
Later, Trump’s lofty aspirations for a mega-extravaganza to showcase US army would possibly resurfaced after the president was awestruck throughout a French army parade in 2017 on Bastille Day.
Trump sought to have fighter jets ripping by the skies and armored automobiles rolling down Pennsylvania Avenue to doubtlessly mark Veterans Day in 2018, the Related Press reported on the time. His imaginative and prescient was by no means absolutely realized amid rumors of a $92 million price ticket.
“Military tanks on our streets would not be good,” Bowser stated Monday. “If military tanks were used, they should be accompanied with many millions of dollars to repair the roads.”
Stories concerning the parade first got here from the Washington Metropolis Paper, which first reported Sunday concerning the planning for a parade.
The US Military was based on June 14, 1775, a yr earlier than the Declaration of Independence. The Military has been growing plans to rejoice its 250th anniversary for over a yr, in line with the report.
Through the 2024 marketing campaign cycle, Trump talked about internet hosting “the most spectacular” festivities for America’s 250th anniversary, which takes place subsequent yr on July 4.
Trump proposed a “Salute to America 250” celebration that may final a few yr.
“As a nation, we should be preparing for the most spectacular birthday party. We want to make it the best of all time,” Trump stated in a coverage video launched in 2023.
“I will work with all 50 governors, Republican and Democrat alike, to create the Great American State Fair, a unique one-year exhibition featuring pavilions from all 50 states. It’ll be something.”
The Publish contacted the Division of Homeland Safety for remark.
