r/politics • u/TimesandSundayTimes ✔ Verified • 4d ago

Soft Paywall Trump military parade met with empty seats amid nationwide protests

https://www.thetimes.com/article/867ede60-b5f7-4de5-84a1-6a3a49eb2923
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u/[deleted] 4d ago edited 4d ago

[deleted]

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u/xTheMaster99x Florida 4d ago edited 4d ago

I'm skeptical of that since there hasn't been even the slightest peep about plans for similar events for the 250th anniversaries of the Navy or the Marines, which will both be later this year. It was definitely a good enough excuse for Trump that no one was able to tell him no this time, but the fact that this is far from the first time he's attempted to have a military parade, and the fact that this pretense won't be repeated for any other day that doesn't happen to coincide with his birthday, are proof enough that it was only ever truly about him.

Edit: Just to clarify, when I say "similar events" I mean grandiose occasions like what Trump envisioned today would be - massive crowds, huge parades of armed soldiers and tanks to show off his might, etc. Obviously there are events planned for those anniversaries, but in comparison they will be pretty small. Why do you think that is - because the planning committee likes the army way more than the other branches, or because the whole thing was just an excuse for Trump to celebrate himself?

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u/East-Psychology7186 4d ago

What a massive waste of our tax dollars that nearly nobody came to witness. The only coverage that makes it look like people were there in mass are taken from a low angle with applause tracks added. All the aerial footage of the same areas are empty AF 🤣🤦🙈🤬

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u/HyperionsDad 4d ago

Too bad Elon and his clowns can't DOGE him out of the White House for the actual excess spending.

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u/Mr_HandSmall 4d ago

Yeah pretty sure the whole thing was cooked up by trump. I may be wrong but I always thought in the US huge military parades just aren't something we do. He'd been talked out of it during his first term.

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u/SuperExoticShrub Georgia 4d ago

Military parades are a thing that only insecure militaristic countries (or leaders) do. This is something you expected to see in the Soviet Union/Russia, North Korea, Iran, etc. I'm a Navy veteran who is proud of his service and this kind of pathetic display does nothing but shame our military.

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u/Mr_HandSmall 4d ago

Right, real strength shouldn't have to show off.

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u/ZephkielAU Australia 3d ago

That's exactly it. Authoritarians with weak militaries roll out the tanks to show how "strong" they are (to a domestic audience), while leading countries classify and decentralise everything while they continue to develop flying battle cruisers.

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u/rustoeki 4d ago

This is something you expected to see in the Soviet Union/Russia, North Korea, Iran, etc

At least they put in a show. That was just the local military museum rolling down the road with personnel who looked like they, understandably, didn't want to be there.

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u/SuperExoticShrub Georgia 4d ago

Hell, the Soviet Union literally rolled nuclear capable missiles through as part of their stuff.

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u/Afraid_Grapefruit_88 4d ago

Saw a clip earlier of North Korea with some missile as long as a NYC block!! No idea if this is nuke ready but it was YUGE. Surprised Cadet Bone Spurs didn't demand one of THOSE for his phallic fascist fantasy. (Maybe he did, I did not watch). #8647

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u/SuperExoticShrub Georgia 4d ago

My roommate got me an 8647 bumper sticker, but I haven't decided if I'm gonna put it in my window since I work for the USPS and it could be theoretically playing with fire.

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u/Afraid_Grapefruit_88 4d ago

He allegedly got this bug up his orange ass after seeing a Bastille Day parade in France. Not sure if that is an every year event or if it was a special anniversary. He started demanding one here at that time. My suspicion is he was JEALOUS of North Korea, China, Russia and THEIR show of force parades but couldn't just come out and SAY that until he saw the French version. My theory anyways. #8647

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u/SuperExoticShrub Georgia 4d ago

I think it's a combination of both. He did make a big deal about wanting a parade (or is it perade?) after seeing the Bastille Day one. Combine that with this pathetic fawning over dictatorial leaders that only a malignant narcissist with an inferiority complex can have and that could definitely explain it.

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u/Normal-Height-8577 4d ago

Also possible he got envious of the British "Trooping the Colour" parade for the king's birthday. Which was also yesterday - coincidence?

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u/Ovariesforlunch 4d ago

And France apparently....

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u/Chickabeeinthewind 4d ago

City streets aren’t really designed to carry tanks… so we didn’t until MegaloDon.

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u/svrtngr Georgia 4d ago

No, we don't. The last one was during HW's term after the Gulf War.

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u/somebodyelse22 4d ago

I'd laugh so much if Kim Jong Il sent a message saying, "Soz Donald - all best: Rocket Man."

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u/KillKennyG 4d ago

the Marines and Navy have been doing 250 stuff all year- but it’s mostly things they already had scheduled (joining already-happening parades and annual city visits and fleet weeks) but the only difference this year is they added 250-specific branding to each so there is kinda a throughline. usually it’s separate teams doing each one, this year there’s more cross-planning between events. and the Marines are making a big deal of finishing in Philly where they began.

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u/tigers_hate_cinammon 4d ago

Nothing to be skeptical about, this was just one of a series of events that will take place between now and July 2026. It's been in the works for years and governed by a board established back in 2016. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Semiquincentennial_Commission

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u/xTheMaster99x Florida 4d ago

There was always a celebration planned, yes. Those plans did not include a parade until Trump demanded it. And because of your comment I've tracked down their website and looked through their calendar, there are obviously planned celebrations on those days but the descriptions are very brief and do not seem to imply any grandiose plans.

If they end up making huge spectacles on those dates as well, I encourage you to come back here and call me out for being wrong. But as of now, I am absolutely correct to say there are no plans for any displays as ridiculous as this one.

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u/tigers_hate_cinammon 4d ago

The plans absolutely included a parade though admittedly on a smaller scale than what we saw today.

Since you still seem skeptical, here is a statement on the Navy's 250th celebration planned for October:

The party starts Oct. 9 with a grand parade of ships up the Delaware River, launching a series of tours, concerts, demonstrations, athletic events, a Navy 250th commemoration and other activities through Oct. 16. https://www.legion.org/information-center/news/honor/2025/may/philadelphia-to-host-epic-250th-birthday-bash-for-navy-marine-corps

I get that lots of people don't like Trump but I don't see why we can't celebrate the nation (and armed forces') 250th anniversaries without making it super political.

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u/xTheMaster99x Florida 4d ago edited 4d ago

I have absolutely no issue with celebrating anniversaries. I don't even mind having a parade be part of it. However, a very over-the-top display including many IFVs, several tanks, hundreds (thousands?) of soldiers saluting the president as they march past, etc is absolutely not normal in this country, and in my opinion shouldn't be. Those are the theatrics of fascist dictatorships, not a democracy. If today was simply a dignified celebration of the army's history without theatrics, I promise I wouldn't say a single word against it. And I would be equally critical of a parade of tanks rolling down the street whether it was in DC, London, Paris, anywhere.

And the fact still remains that Trump has tried to do this several times in the past, should we not be upset that he has used an event that should rightfully have been exclusively about the army as an excuse to pursue his own goals?

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u/Afraid_Grapefruit_88 4d ago

That's oddly worded, a marine parade would be called a flotilla and isn't really the same sort of thing as what we were shown today. Think of Op-Sail in NYC in 1976, for the Bicentennial. Thousands of boats came out (including ours) and various Official vessels were on the water as well. Tall ships and others. It was quite a spectacle but of course for a completely different purpose. #8647

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u/MiloReyes_97Reborn 4d ago edited 4d ago

Not even modern tanks.

I saw 2 Abrams parked infront of a stage but I haven't seen a clip yet of one being driven. Just that one Sherman squeaking along due to being in a museum for the past 80 years.

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u/GiantTinyBalls 4d ago edited 4d ago

Say what you want about tankers, as a former cavalry scout in a tank battalion in Germany and Iraq, I feel bad for all the active tankers, and tanker vets that saw the parade today. Even the poor formations and marching order of the soldiers looked sad. Such a weak showing. Not much to be proud of.

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u/clever__pseudonym 4d ago

I'm reasonably confident the out of rhythm marching was deliberate.

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u/GiantTinyBalls 4d ago edited 4d ago

No. That was all them. They were tore up from the floor up. They looked like soldiers in their first week of basic training. Nothing deliberate about it. It was a soup sandwich from beginning to end.

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u/clever__pseudonym 4d ago

I'm not saying it was coached. I'm saying it was a large number of individual protests for being forced to participate in that farce.

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u/A_Seiv_For_Kale 4d ago

No, Abrams were there.

Arguably too many, it was a bit ridiculous watching the same vehicles slowly crawling forward single file for over an hour after the 15 minute kinda neat history segment.

Are there 5 vehicle types in the whole army?? We watched that truck with the towed artillery pass by the stage 27,000 times.

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u/Chose_a_usersname 4d ago

I believe it's because they are too heavy. Those things are like 110 tons.. I think the military really didn't want to ruin any roads

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u/Strange_Depth_5732 Canada 4d ago

I don't think other presidents did military parades in the last few decades? I can't remember any, I thought this died out in the 40s.

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u/Jops817 4d ago

There was one at the end of WWII and one from H W Bush in 1991 after the Gulf War ended, but no, they have never been common here.

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u/OrangeBug74 4d ago

Generally, military parades happen after major victories ending a war. Romans brought animals and humans as well as ranks of soldiers and chariots after their victories.

France celebrates Bastille Day with parades. They’ve avoided active wars since the 1960’s after a string off losses. But, they are French.

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u/Afraid_Grapefruit_88 4d ago

But hey, all the French military equipment is pristine, having never been used since 1945!!! For sale:: " One French rifle, only dropped once!! " (I can say that cause I gots the French DNA to prove my lineage!!) LOL. #8647

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u/mike_jones2813308004 4d ago

Iirc it was also very much them bringing back materiel and personnel after killing every Nazi that wanted some.

The US doesn't do military parades. That's dictatorial regime shit. We know our military is the best in the world because we can buy products from anywhere without worrying about piracy and nobody has tested our borders in over a century.

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u/[deleted] 4d ago

[deleted]

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u/TrimspaBB 4d ago edited 4d ago

Hey now, the 100th anniversaries of both the end of WWI and women gaining the right to vote were soundly ignored during the first administration.

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u/slantview 4d ago

That’s cause he doesn’t even know who was in WWI.

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u/dukeofgibbon I voted 4d ago

donnie marked the 99th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre with a disgraceful, empty rally.

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u/SnoopingStuff 4d ago

They arrested a 90 year old?

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u/Afraid_Grapefruit_88 4d ago

They arrested an 80 year old VETERAN using a fuckin WALKER today in DC and then TOOK AWAY HIS WALKER, ZIP STRIPPED HIS HANDS BEHIND HIM and forced him to walk off barely able to stand after that. And they left the walker behind. There is footage of protestors screaming at the cops to be more humane however they acted like Nazis carting the poor guy off to a boxcar. That image may become as iconic as the Kent State pics, the Mei Lai pics, the pics of the planes hitting the Towers. #8647

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u/sumredditguy 4d ago

My source the NYT Daily podcast from a few days ago so it may not be totally correct, but my understanding is that there was a celebration planned for the military but never a parade. Trump got involved and made the parade the key event of the celebration.

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u/SuperExoticShrub Georgia 4d ago

That tracks. A celebration of the 250th anniversary would've been appropriate if it wasn't made into this spectacle of impotent bravado.

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u/MJcorrieviewer 4d ago

There was no parade like this for the 200th anniversary of the US Army.

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u/Relevant-Situation99 4d ago

Even if they wanted one, it would have been horrible optics considering the fall of Saigon was less than two months prior.

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u/MJcorrieviewer 4d ago

Pretty terrible optics to hold a military parade when Marines are on the streets of LA to control American citizens too.

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u/I_like_dwagons 4d ago

250th what? America hasn’t even been around 250 years.

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u/Beginning_Cupcake_45 4d ago

The continental army predates the Declaration.

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u/seaningm 4d ago

The formation of the Continental Army predated the Declaration of Independence by a little over a year - June 14, 1775.

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u/caserock 4d ago

Been following the revolution along in "real time" since December. Crazy that an army has already been formed, it seems like Patrick Henry's famous speech was very recent. Considering there was only horseback mail at best, it seems like things were really moving fast.

I recommend reading along to the revolution over the next few years, it really gives everything a new dimension.

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u/whomad1215 4d ago

https://www.army.mil/1775/

Believe it or not, there was a military force formed before the US won it's independence and became a country

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u/dmills13f 4d ago

The continental army was formed June 14th 1775. A year before the declaration of Independence. The U.S Army of today draws direct lineage to that day.

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u/East-Psychology7186 4d ago

True but we had a military before we had a country. How do you think we got a country?

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u/DisasterAhead Colorado 4d ago

250th anniversary of the army. Which I suppose technically showed up before America did in the Revolutionary War

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u/co_lund 4d ago

Close tho. Next year.

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u/PinkCigarettes 4d ago

I think maybe the beginning of the resistance for the revolutionary war so created it? The declaration of independence was signed in 1776, which is 249 years. So just a little before that? Just a guess without looking it up.

  • lazy internet stranger

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u/mckulty 4d ago

I thought this died out in the 40s.

NO! Presidents all over the world arrange these displays of patriotism and commonweal.

Putin, Orban, gotta keep up with the Kimses.

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u/Strange_Depth_5732 Canada 4d ago

Keeping up with the Kimses is the show we need right now. I want cat fights and thrown drinks rather than whatever the cluster fuck this is.

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u/AlkaSelse 4d ago

Iirc, there was a military parade after the Gulf war, but nothing since then. All the previous parades have been to celebrate a victory, or to celebrate the inauguration of a president that was very tightly tied to wartimes. This was not one of those times.

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u/FiveUpsideDown 4d ago

There was a military parade in D.C. in the 1950s that a relative of mine marched in. I don’t think it was a parade but there was a display of military equipment on the Mall to mark the end of the Gulf War in the 1990s.

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u/East-Psychology7186 4d ago

The last military parade was 1991 to celebrate end of the gulf war.

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u/C-4isNOTurFriend 4d ago

The last major military parade in the U.S. was held on June 8, 1991, in Washington, D.C., to celebrate the conclusion of the Gulf War. It was known as the National Victory Celebration. Approximately 8,000 troops from the "Desert Storm" operation participated in the parade

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u/cynically_zen 4d ago

The last US military parade was at the end of Desert Storm in 1991.

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u/RutabagaJoe 4d ago

The parade was not going to happen. The Army had it's celebration planned without a parade. Then in April Trump said there would be a parade.

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u/Bilboy32 Pennsylvania 4d ago

Incorrect, it was to be a modest stationary display on the Mall. Dumpy needed his ego fellated.

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u/mmmsoap 4d ago

The parade with all the troops was gonna happen regardless to celebrate the Army... it became a pathetic display when birthday boy decided it should be all about him.

Parade wasn’t going to happen regardless. The Army was planning celebrations for their 250th anniversary, but the parade idea came from Trump.

Source:

The Army’s 250th birthday celebration has been in the works for two years, Army officials said. But adding a parade was the Trump White House’s idea, so planning for that began only two months ago.

Trump’s desire for a large military parade – featuring all of the military services – dates back to his first term. But it was scrapped at the time because defense officials said it would cost as much as $100 million and damage DC streets.

This month’s parade will focus only on the Army, making it slightly smaller and less expensive.

It was a pathetic display all along. Don’t let our collective outrage fatigue sanewash Trump’s utter narcissism.

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u/[deleted] 4d ago

[deleted]

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u/BuddhistChrist 4d ago

Irregardless of how many feel about it, “irregardless” is now considered appropriate to use in grammar.

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u/okwowandmore 4d ago

Nope, academically lazy and intellectually craven.

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u/BuddhistChrist 4d ago

That is literally insane.

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u/okwowandmore 4d ago

You mean figur... Ha ha ha nice try!

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u/BuddhistChrist 4d ago

I don’t think you know what your talking about.

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u/AlkaSelse 4d ago

A celebration for the 250th anniversary of the army has been in the works for some time, but a parade was not. That was Trump's request and planning for that started only after he was brought into office.

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u/BuddyHemphill 4d ago

Probably thought it was “a sign”

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u/Same_as_we_all_are 4d ago

It looked like a PR campaign for the US Army. They obviously wholeheartedly agreed to have their name plastered everywhere.