Trump plans grotesque navy parade for his 79th birthday

Because the financial system implodes, President Donald Trump has different priorities—like planning his birthday celebration.

On Monday night, two protection officers advised CNN that Trump’s staff is within the early levels of organizing a navy parade in Washington, D.C., ostensibly to commemorate the Military’s 250th anniversary. 

However stories additionally recommend Trump, who dodged the navy draft throughout the Vietnam Warfare, is eyeing June 14 for the spectacle—which is, conveniently, his 79th birthday. 

The White Home denies the parade is about for that date, however given the administration’s observe report with the reality, that’s to be taken with a grain of salt. Extra telling is the truth that the celebration has been within the works for a yr, and native officers are already in talks with the administration about logistics.

“I haven’t been directly involved in it yet. 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. So, I would say it’s at its early stages. Yes, they have reached out. I don’t know if it’s being characterized as a military parade,” D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser advised CNN.

Arlington County Board Chair Takis Karantonis confirmed that he obtained a “heads up” from a White Home official final week. 

“It’s not clear to me what the scope of a parade would be,” he mentioned, including that he hopes the federal authorities considers the ache that navy veterans are feeling as they face job insecurity as a consequence of latest DOGE actions.

The parade, which might stretch almost 4 miles from the Pentagon to the White Home, is a comparatively new addition to the Military’s 250th anniversary celebration, simply rising in newer discussions between the Military and the White Home, CNN stories.

“Any discussion of the parade is pre-decisional at this point. We are intending to have a national level celebration to help build pride in America’s army and increase pride in America,” Military spokesperson Col. Dave Butler advised CNN.

From the sound of it, the parade remains to be within the early planning levels. However that is Trump doing what he does finest: staging a spectacle for himself, at the same time as his tariff-fueled commerce conflict tanks the financial system and inflation burns a gap in shoppers’ pockets.

In that method, it makes excellent sense that he’s taking part in coy. He might need to power folks to have fun him this yr, since even his billionaire buddies—a lot of whom he’s bleeding dry—in all probability don’t really feel like throwing him a celebration.

However Trump has all the time cherished the concept of being celebrated. Ever since he noticed a navy parade in France in 2017, he’s been obsessed. 

“We’re going to have to try and top it,” he mentioned. 

He tried—briefly—however canceled plans in 2018 when the estimated $92 million price ticket (together with an additional $21.6 million for D.C. public security) proved too steep. Predictably, he blamed D.C. officers and threw a match on social media.

Bowser, for her half, is already sounding the alarm. 

“Military tanks on our streets would not be good. If military tanks were used, they should be accompanied with many millions of dollars to repair the roads,” she advised Politico.

And that’s the factor: Trump could not care about financial fallout, international unrest, or how veterans really feel about getting used as parade props. What he does care about is being the focal point—regardless of the fee. 

And with this parade, he may simply get the birthday bash he’s all the time needed—whether or not anybody else likes it or not.

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