A strong majority of Americans think a massive military parade scheduled for Saturday, June 14, in Washington, is not a good use of public money, a new poll shows. The Army estimates that the parade, championed by President Donald Trump, will cost between $25 million and $45 million.
Sixty percent of those surveyed by The Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research didn’t think the parade is worth the money, while 38% said the event is a good use of government funds. The parade will celebrate the Army’s 250th birthday. It also falls on Flag Day and Trump’s 79th birthday.
The event will feature 50 aircraft, 150 armored and other military vehicles, 34 horses, two mules and one canine, along with 6,000 soldiers, according to NPR.
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A military parade scheduled for Saturday, June 14, in Washington is expected to cost taxpayers $25 million to $45 million, according to the U.S. Army.
Party-line support
Support for the parade is sharply divided along party lines, the poll found.
About 4 in 10 strongly or somewhat approve of the military display in the nation’s capital, while 29% strongly or somewhat disapprove, and 31% neither approve nor disapprove. But 67% of respondents who identified as Republicans support the parade, compared to just 20% of Democrats.
When asked whether the cost is justified, 80% of Democrats and 72% of independents said no, while just 35% of Republicans said the parade is not worth the money.
Expenses associated with the parade include not just transporting troops and equipment to Washington but also repairing streets damaged by heavy armored vehicles.
But in an interview in April with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Trump defended the cost of the parade as “peanuts compared to the value of doing it.”
‘You won’t want to miss it’
The last military parade in Washington took place following the American victory in the Gulf War in 1991. Historians say this peacetime display of military might is unprecedented.
Other presidents have declined to show off the U.S. military to draw a contrast with military parades in totalitarian regimes such as the Soviet Union and North Korea.
Presidential historian Michael Beschloss told NPR in 2018 that during the height of the Cold War, former President Dwight Eisenhower declined to hold a military parade in the 1950s to match the Soviet displays.
“Eisenhower said absolutely not, we are the pre-eminent power on Earth,” Bechloss said. “For us to try to imitate what the Soviets are doing in Red Square would make us look weak.”
Trump has touted the parade as a celebration “like you’ve never seen before.”
“We will celebrate a special military parade in Washington, D.C., like no other,” Trump said in a video posted to Instagram. “The parade salutes our soldiers’ remarkable strength and unbeatable spirit. You won’t want to miss it. Just don’t miss this one.”
‘Heavy force’
As many as 200,000 people are expected to watch the parade in person, and protests are planned at nine locations in Washington. However, Trump suggested that he would not tolerate any protests at the event.
“If any protesters want to come out, they will be met with very big force,” Trump told reporters in the White House on Monday, June 9.
“People that want to protest will be met with big force,” he added. “But this is people that hate our country. They will be met with heavy force.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt walked back the threat during a press briefing on Wednesday, June 11.
“Of course, the president supports peaceful protests,” she said. “What a stupid question.”
