Trump avoided any overt partisan messages, though he seemed to allude at one point to his “Fight! Fight! Fight!” exhortation after an assassination attempt against him last year.
“Time and again, America’s enemies have learned that if you threaten the American people, our soldiers are coming for you,” Trump said. “Your defeat will be certain. Your demise will be final, and your downfall will be total and complete — because our soldiers never give up, never surrender and never ever quit. They fight, fight, fight and they win, win, win.”
Trump’s appearance on the reviewing stand south of the White House capped a harrowing day in which a Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband were murdered — and another Democratic legislator and his wife were wounded — in what authorities called a “politically motivated” attack.
A shooting war has broken out between two longtime Middle East foes, Iran and Israel. And in a further distraction from the parade Trump had long coveted, protesters around the country rallied against the spectacle, turning out by tens of thousands in New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and other cities.
Animating the demonstrations was a two-word rallying cry: “No kings.”
The weather didn’t fully cooperate, either. The winds picked up and a light drizzle commenced just as the tanks were about to roll.
The parade was supposed to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET, but it was moved up a half hour in deference to the weather, a Secret Service official said. Army tanks, their treads squeaking against the pavement, trundled along Constitution Avenue under an intermittent drizzle. Hundreds of people were still stuck in line, even as the parade was coming to a close two hours later.
Some of the planned flyovers had to be canceled. Still, the crowd gathered on the National Mall looked up appreciatively as helicopters flew overhead in formation.
The parade came on the 250th anniversary of the Army and, as it happens, Trump’s 79th birthday. The timing sparked criticism that the parade was intended as much a celebration of one man as it was the Army. The military estimated the cost at $25 million to $40 million.
The crowd broke out into a chorus of “Happy Birthday” after Trump’s remarks Saturday night.
“The whole idea — doing it on Trump’s birthday … we don’t do this in America,” said Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., a member of the Armed Services Committee. “We do not celebrate individual leaders. We celebrate the Constitution, and we celebrate the country.”
Trump had long pined for a military parade, having been impressed with the Bastille Day celebration he saw in Paris in 2017, the first year of his last term, a former White House official said. His staff put off the idea, citing the cost and the rarity of such spectacles. The last time the nation showed off its military hardware in such fashion came in 1991, at the end of the first Gulf War.
Trump watched approvingly from a viewing stand, flanked by first lady Melania Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. All were cheered by the crowd.
