Trump’s grand military parade postponed until next year
An extravagant military parade planned by President Donald Trump for November in Washington DC has been put on hold until next year. The parade was reportedly set to cost more than $90 million.
"We originally targeted November 10, 2018 for this event but have now agreed to explore opportunities in 2019," the Department of Defense said in a statement.
Trump had originally come up with the idea of a parade celebrating America’s military might after being wowed by France’s Bastille Day parade last year. “I want a parade like the one in France,” he reportedly told military aides in February.
Held on Veterans Day, the parade would include troops and equipment from all five branches of the armed services, and would celebrate the history and accomplishments of the US military, from the Revolutionary War up to the present day.
The White House estimated earlier this year that the parade would cost the taxpayer between $10 million and $30 million, and the Pentagon said it would feature a massive display of air power as its finale.
However, Reuters cites unnamed officials saying the parade’s true cost would be three to nine times higher, at $92 million. Until now, the parade had been in the works, and was provided for in the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, a piece of legislation signed every year that sets out the military’s budget.
The planned parade had been roundly criticized by Trump’s opponents, who called it wasteful, unnecessary, and “authoritarian.”
While the US largely refrains from holding military parades, tanks have rolled down the streets of Washington DC before. In 1991, a massive parade was held to celebrate US victory in the Gulf War, at a cost of $8 million.
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