US President Donald Trump on Saturday declared that the massive military parade scheduled in Washington, DC, to celebrate the US Army’s 250th anniversary will proceed despite the threat of severe weather.“OUR GREAT MILITARY PARADE IS ON, RAIN OR SHINE. REMEMBER, A RAINY DAY PARADE BRINGS GOOD LUCK. I’LL SEE YOU ALL IN D.C.,” Trump wrote on Truth Social hours before the spectacle.The parade, featuring nearly 7,000 troops, over 150 military vehicles, including 28 Abrams tanks, 56 armored vehicles, and more than 50 helicopters, also coincides with Trump’s 79th birthday and is expected to cost up to $45 million. Trump has long desired such a parade, a dream previously blocked during his first term by Pentagon leaders.
Now, with full control of the federal government and loyalists in key roles, Trump is finally getting his vision of a grand display of American military power, on a day when tensions both at home and abroad are flaring.Thunderstorms and missile fire cloud celebrationsSaturday’s celebrations may face disruption from more than political dissent. Heavy rain and possible thunderstorms are forecast in Washington, with a flood watch in place. The US Army said Friday that it was monitoring the weather, but as of Saturday morning, the event was still on.Meanwhile, halfway across the world, US-supplied Israeli forces have launched strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, prompting Iranian retaliation and raising fears of wider conflict. The American military is assisting in the region.‘No Kings’ protests across the USAs the parade prepares to roll past landmarks like the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument, protests under the banner “No Kings Day” are planned in nearly 2,000 cities across the US, and even in Paris.Organizers say the protests are aimed at rejecting what they call Trump’s “authoritarianism, billionaire-first politics, and the militarization of our democracy.” Los Angeles is expected to see some of the largest protests, where a giant balloon of Trump in a diaper and another of him in a Russian military uniform will float above the crowd.California Governor Gavin Newsom blasted the parade as a “vulgar display of weakness,” likening it to North Korea’s military pageantry. Trump, in turn, has warned that any attempt to disrupt the parade in Washington will be met with “very big force.”Mixed public reaction and rising costsWhile Trump has called the celebration “a big day for America,” public opinion appears divided. A new NBC News poll shows that 64% of Americans oppose using taxpayer money for the military parade.Critics, including some Republicans, say the $45 million event is an unnecessary extravagance. But Trump disagrees. “The cost is peanuts compared to the value of doing it,” he recently told NBC’s Meet the Press.The parade is expected to end with the Army’s Golden Knights parachuting in and handing Trump a US flag on Flag Day. For Trump, it’s not just a birthday, it’s a statement.
