President Donald Trump boasted that it's "about time" America celebrated its military success while addressing troops and the crowd at the parade in Washington, D.C.
"Every other country celebrates their victories," Trump told soldiers at the parade to mark the Army's 250th anniversary. "It's about time America did too."
The president talked up the might of the U.S. Army in his speech, which clocked in at 8 minutes—considerably shorter than most of his public addresses. The D.C. parade has long been a desire of Trump and the event coincided with the president's 79th birthday.
"We're the hottest country in the world right now," Trump said. "If you threaten the American people, our soldiers are coming for you."
Tanks rolled by Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, their family and U.S. officials on a dark and cloudy evening in D.C. More than 6,000 troops marched in front of the president near the National Mall. Crowds came out to watch the event that was capped with fireworks and there were no disruptions to the parade.
Flash floods and thunderstorms were forecast in the capital, but Trump vowed to go ahead come “rain or shine.”
The president waved to the crowd and pumped his fist on arrival as people chanted “USA! USA!” He walked onto the viewing gallery to a mix of “Hail to the Chief” and “Happy Birthday.”
The parade told the Army’s story, starting with the Battle of Lexington — the first battle of the Revolutionary War — to today.
Each conflict had 150 troops in period costume, followed by a section of hundreds of troops in modern-day dress.
Parachuters descended from the sky at the opening of the parade, as red smoke streaked across the sky.
The spectacle was expected to cost between $25 million and $45 million, according to Army spokesperson Heather J. Hagan.
While there are bipartisan concerns about the cost, it’s not the biggest U.S. military parade that has been held.
President Andrew Johnson appears to still hold that record, set when his “Grand Review of the Armies” marked the end of the Civil War. That show of force in 1865, meant to salve a war-weary nation, included 145,000 soldiers marching down Pennsylvania Avenue.
Trump’s parade follows a day of nationwide protests where hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in more than 2,000 cities and small towns to demonstrate against Trump and his administration.
The “No Kings” demonstrations were organized to deliberately clash with the president’s celebrations in Washington, D.C.
Organizers avoided D.C. and held a flagship march in Philadelphia “to draw a clear contrast between our people-powered movement and the costly, wasteful, and un-American birthday parade in Washington,” according to the group’s website.
Trump, meanwhile, threatened to meet protesters at his parade with “very big force.”
“And I haven't even heard about a protest, but you know, this is people that hate our country, but they will be met with very heavy force,” he told reporters at the Oval Office this week.
Trump’s director of communications, Steven Cheung, mocked the protests on X.
“The so-called No Kings protests have been a complete and utter failure with minuscule attendance,” Cheung said. “It is sad Democrats and liberals would rather support criminals and illegals instead of celebrating the 250th anniversary of our great U.S. Army and Flag Day. But many more Americans are commemorating our brave military men and women who have given the ultimate sacrifice and who those continue to serve our country.“
AP contributed reporting
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