President Trump On 4th Of July Parade: It’ll Be Like No Other!
[guest post by Dana]
It looks like President Trump’s dreamed-about military parade will be happening on on Independence Day:
President Trump said on Monday that the Pentagon would put military tanks on display on Thursday in Washington as part of his plans to turn the annual Fourth of July celebration in the nation’s capital into a salute to the country’s military prowess.
The tanks will join an airborne display of the nation’s firepower, including a flight of Air Force One over Washington and a performance by the Navy’s Blue Angels jets. Mr. Trump, who is to speak at the celebration, has requested that the chiefs for the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines stand next to him as aircraft from each of their services fly overhead and their respective hymns play on loudspeakers.
“It’ll be like no other — it’ll be special, and I hope a lot of people come,” Mr. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “We have some incredible equipment, military equipment, on display — brand-new. And we’re very proud of it.”
The Dept. of the Interior has provided details of what visitors can expect.
President Trump will also be delivering a speech during the celebration:
Mr. Trump is scheduled to deliver his Fourth of July speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, becoming the first president in decades to participate in the annual Independence Day event. Mr. Trump announced the speech via tweet in February.
“We will be having one of the biggest gatherings in the history of Washington, D.C., on July 4,” he wrote. “It will be called ‘A Salute To America’ and will be held at the Lincoln Memorial. Major fireworks display, entertainment and an address by your favorite President, me!”
And while President Trump’s speech will address all Americans, not just his supporters, it’s interesting to note that the Republican National Committee has reportedly received VIP tickets to hand out to donors and select members, while the Democratic National Committee claims they have not received any such tickets for their members.
About those tanks:
NBC News captured video of the tanks — two Bradley and two Abrams tanks — purportedly en route to the National Mall for Thursday’s event. Also in transport are support vehicles, including an M88, used to help recover heavy armored vehicles.
A photographer for the Associated Press also spotted two M1A1 Abrams tanks along with four other military vehicles on a freight train in southeast D.C. on Monday night.
The tanks will remain “static” on the National Mall:
A small number of M1 Abrams tanks and other armored vehicles will participate in President Donald Trump’s July Fourth celebrations in Washington on Thursday, US defense officials have confirmed to CNN…. they will not parade down Pennsylvania Avenue due to the need to protect roads and bridges.
Air travel will be impacted during this year’s parade as well, with flights suspended at Reagan National Airport during the flyover and fireworks display.
The cost of the parade is unknown at this point. However, the Washington Post has reported that, according to “two individuals familiar with the arrangement,” the National Park Service has diverted $2.5 million in entrance and recreation fees to cover costs for the Salute to America. These fees had been earmarked for improve parks nationwide:
Trump administration officials have consistently refused to say how much taxpayers will have to pay for the expanded celebration on the Mall this year, which the president has dubbed the “Salute to America.” The two individuals, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, confirmed the transfer of the Park Service funds Tuesday.
The diverted park fees represent just a fraction of the extra costs the government faces as a result of the event, which will include displays of military hardware, flyovers by an array of jets including Air Force One, the deployment of tanks on the Mall and an extended pyrotechnics show. By comparison, according to former Park Service deputy director Denis P. Galvin, the entire Fourth of July celebration on the Mall typically costs the agency about $2 million.
Back when President Trump got bitten by the military parade bug after being awestruck by the display of military might, pomp and pageantry during France’s Bastille Day Celebration, I wrote:
But here’s the real problem in all of this is: Trump. As we all know, the current Commander in Chief is a self-centered, self-consumed man, who adores being the center of attention, thrives on the adulation of the masses, has displayed authoritarian tendencies and one for whom one-upmanship is a way of life – especially when it involves giant spectacles of pomp and might. All of this combined threatens to produce an unrivaled, grand display which could easily end up focusing on Trump instead of the military and the honorable men and women who serve. If there was some sort of guarantee that absolutely no politician, including President Trump, would be allowed to grandstand, then it might be a wonderful event that would actually celebrate the military and its members. But if any politician of any political stripe were given a moment in the spotlight, they would undoubtedly exploit the military and the troops to pettily boast how their side supports the military more than the other side. This would be a travesty. We all know that politicians, being the unique breed of animal they are, would be absolutely unable to resist being so cravenly opportunistic. So without that provision set in stone, then such an event would no doubt be a distasteful political display of rank pandering at the expense of some extraordinary individuals and the U.S. military itself
I still have the same concerns but hope I am proven foolish to have them. With any luck, President Trump won’t see this as an opportunity to campaign for 2020, and other than his brief address, there won’t be a politician to be found because Americans will be too busy commemorating America’s 243rd birthday, freedom and independence.
(Cross-posted at The Jury Talks Back.)
–Dana
I feel like it was a big disappointment to Trump to not be able to have the tanks roll down the streets of D.C. during the parade.
Also, I think it’s good for the country to have something like parade planning for him to focus on…
Dana (bb0678) — 7/2/2019 @ 5:51 pmIt’ll be like no other…”
At last: a truth.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 7/2/2019 @ 6:17 pmMy favorite holiday, birth of the declaration of independence and all the great ingenuity that followed.
mg (8cbc69) — 7/2/2019 @ 6:19 pmI’ve added this to the post:
Dana (bb0678) — 7/2/2019 @ 6:24 pmThose new Sherman tanks will be something to see.
Colonel Klink (Ret) (6e7a1c) — 7/2/2019 @ 6:42 pm” . . . it’s interesting to note that the Republican National Committee has reportedly received VIP tickets to hand out to donors…while the Democratic National Committee claims they have not received any such tickets for their members.”
Because GOP leaders and donors got tiks in the past simultaneously with DNC big wigs?
Meanwhile, Maxine “Civility” Waters, AOC, the Little Red Hen owner, impeach Trump donors, Harry ‘Mitt didn’t pay taxes’ Reid, and similar types will have to make do.
Harcourt Fenton Mudd (6b1442) — 7/2/2019 @ 7:08 pm6. I’m pretty sure in the past these kinds of shindigs have been apolitical, nonpartisan affairs.
Gryph (08c844) — 7/2/2019 @ 7:10 pmR.I.P. Lee Iacocca
urbanleftbehind (ca47f5) — 7/2/2019 @ 7:12 pmTrump should have started a tradition of having these ceremonies elsewhere in flyover America.
The folks in DC get to see all the amazing stuff our nation paid for. Trump’s administration should spend a little more time planning the event and start a tradition of having it in cities that don’t get that kind of display. Cities that aren’t in swing states. It doesn’t have to be a huge expense. They should do the inauguration that way too.
Eventually they should really shut down capitol hill entirely, as it serves no purpose. Congresscritters should live at home and debate bills and vote over the internet, as a matter of public record. I had hoped Trump would have shut down a few of the enormous departments in his administration by now. He still can. Fire the whole Department of Education. Roll DOE into the DOD and stop pretending it’s not something else. Combine the armed forces and gut most of the bureaucracy (sacrilege, I know).
And instead of a wall, just start an armed convoy and bus all illegal aliens into Mexico and dump them. Just scoot on in and if the cartels want to test us, have a ROE that solves the problem. We don’t need to put anyone in cells for more than an hour or two.
And every 4th of July puff up the tourist traps in Lincoln or Oklahoma City. Get away from this idea of a capitol. Let Maryland have the land and let the Smithsonian put some museum displays in the big white buildings all over the town. Maybe a water slide.
Dustin (6d7686) — 7/2/2019 @ 7:35 pmI am totally with you, there. I like your ideas of governing by internet. Let all the lobbyists travel everywhere to ply their trade. All the local businesses would welcome them and their money.
felipe (023cc9) — 7/2/2019 @ 7:52 pmI have lots of ideas. They aren’t good ideas but I make up for that in quantity.
I’ve modified my illegal immigration solution. truck them all over to the nearest coast. Put them on huge ships. Boat them over as close as possible to the coast of Iran. Release them in enormous inflatable rafts to do as they please. Maybe give them enormous quantities of counterfeit rials for the new host nation… I’m still working through the consequences of that part.
Dustin (6d7686) — 7/2/2019 @ 7:58 pmCheers to that, Dustin and have a Happy 4th with the family.
mg (8cbc69) — 7/2/2019 @ 7:59 pmTo think you (Dustin) were the most valiant of warriors against the sandwich pastor, but I guess record-setting asylum abuse in ones home state will do that to you.
urbanleftbehind (ca47f5) — 7/2/2019 @ 8:04 pmI could really go for a good sandwich
Dustin (6d7686) — 7/2/2019 @ 8:22 pmI think if Trump wants tanks, he ought to have to wear a tanker helmet like Michael Dukakis.
Beldar (fa637a) — 7/2/2019 @ 8:24 pmIs “tanker” helmet proper nomenclature? Please dont be like Ted C. with basketball ring.
urbanleftbehind (ca47f5) — 7/2/2019 @ 8:32 pmR.I.P. LEE IOCOCCA
Carried a torch for Miss Liberty but the heart belonged to Mustang Sally.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 7/2/2019 @ 9:24 pmThanksgiving was the only holiday my father really celebrated. Evert year he prepared a feast–turkey, ham, cornbread dressing with sage sausage and mushrooms, candied yams with marshmallows, Waldorf salad, ambrosia, and buttered biscuits. It was his thing, because it was all about family.
He didn’t celebrate Christmas or Easter so much, just sort of went through the motions. But on Independence Day, he always stood at attention, because he was a veteran.
The 4th of July is not about the military. It’s about the citizenry, and every man and woman who served in the military knows it. They didn’t stand a post for some flag or parchment paper; the stood a post for free people. That is what Independence Day is truly about.
This display of military strength is like some guy desperately trying to measure the size of his penis with his thumb. And you all know about guys with small hands.
Gawain's Ghost (b25cd1) — 7/3/2019 @ 4:25 amBut we carried the Chrysler loan, the first of bailouts on the way to being a full subsidiary of fiat
Narciso (d68160) — 7/3/2019 @ 4:26 amWe cant even acknowledge the flag, on the anniversary of Gettysburg, it’s a small tribute to those who have fought the long war,
Narciso (d68160) — 7/3/2019 @ 4:28 amUm, don’t think they were flying the Betsy Ross flag at Gettysburg.
Appalled (b1303d) — 7/3/2019 @ 4:51 amAhe made the flag, but it is the entire unseeiousness of what passes for business practices today
https://spectator.org/george-h-w-bushs-military-parade/
Narciso (d68160) — 7/3/2019 @ 5:00 amTrump better have his backside covered, considering Attorney General Ruby Ridge Barr allows the FBI to murder with no consequences.
mg (8cbc69) — 7/3/2019 @ 5:46 amStephen Miller
@redsteeze
Tanks on the mall. Concentration camps. Man, it’s like FDR is president all over again.
__ _
Wes
@NotWesleyWelker
Amazing how fast we went from literally Auschwitz to literally Tiananmen Square
__ _
Augustus Caesar
@Caesar63BC
✅ Nazi Germany
✅ Tiananmen Square
✅ Lame President
History really does repeat itself.
__ _
JSoo
@JSoo51023138
Well….he really was a Republican ya know. Didn’t you hear? The parties flipped. 😉
__ _
John J. Anzac
harkin (58d012) — 7/3/2019 @ 7:40 am@anzac_j
I don’t know about that. Trump can dance.
__ _
David Burge
@iowahawkblog
Hats off to Iaccoca for helping resurrect the Ford Racing program in the 60s after a 25 year absence. Here he is with Jim Clark admiring the DOHC Ford-Lotus V8 engine before the 1964 Indy 500
__
David Burge
harkin (58d012) — 7/3/2019 @ 7:48 am@iowahawkblog
The Ford racing program of 1963-70 was a thing of wonder; F1, LeMans, Indy, Nascar, NHRA, Trans Am, off road. We will never see its likes again.
_
hey guys, harkin has twitter and he wants us to know all about it for some reason.
Dustin (6d7686) — 7/3/2019 @ 8:10 amTrump defiles everything he touches, and he’s about to touch the 4th of the July.
Dave (1bb933) — 7/3/2019 @ 8:29 amEwww, ick!
Colonel Klink (Ret) (6e7a1c) — 7/3/2019 @ 8:41 am26 – am I sneering while I share?
harkin (58d012) — 7/3/2019 @ 8:48 amNot only is he certain to use it to campaign, and to attack democrats, but when the democrats object, his supporters will attack them for being anti-American by not supporting the fourth of july celebration.
aphrael (e0cdc9) — 7/3/2019 @ 9:38 am23. I think Narr;s problem was that he trusted the FBI in 1992.
Not so much any more.
Sammy Finkelman (0d0ca8) — 7/3/2019 @ 9:38 am* Barr’s problem.
In theories of delegation of responsibiliy, Ruby Ridge is not anything he sold ahve concerned himself with.
Sammy Finkelman (0d0ca8) — 7/3/2019 @ 9:40 am9. For one thing, you can’t send someone into Mexico who is not a Mexican citizen without the permission of Mexico. (although thatt permission can be extorted)
You’d be breaking Mexican immigration laws. Worse, sending people somewhere they don’t want to go by force.
You also, by U.S. law and treaty, must hear every asylum claim.
There’s a lot wrong with many of your oter recomendaions, although Congress doing work long distance could work. And you could have many issues taken up at the same time. A “floor” is so 18th century.
Sammy Finkelman (0d0ca8) — 7/3/2019 @ 9:45 amI’d rather a parade occupy his time and attention rather than planning meet-up with some brutal dictator or stepping into a mess because he didn’t take the time become fully informed or to listen to his advisors.
Dana (bb0678) — 7/3/2019 @ 9:56 am30: well they don’t support the 4th of July:
NYT’s offering for the 4th insists that the US isn’t that great; LA Times every year runs some screed dumping on the Founders or the US. (Its getting warmed up today on line, suggesting that people move “beyond fireworks,” and go get some “culture.” And it does not mean go to the Smithsonian).
With them, its always America’s fault, America’s obligation, and America last.
Harcourt Fenton Mudd (6b1442) — 7/3/2019 @ 10:40 amWill this plan increase or decrease my dog’s annual fireworks freak out?
Slugger (48f053) — 7/3/2019 @ 10:47 am27: OF course Trump defiles everything he touches!!
Until we had Trump, North Korea was under control and pastoral, Iran was peaceful, our trade deficit was non-existent.
We had no national debt, due process prevailed on campuses, and Romney was regarded as a decent man, and “right” on Russia, by shamefaced liberals who admitted they misjudged him.
Liberals were not unmasking citizens, spying on campaigns, or deleting emails. They even promised to appoint a center justice to the Supreme Court.
No officials were using a foundation as a tip jar.
We had no immigration problem (ask a Californian), and our unionized public schools were a marvel for our children.
Yes those were the pre-Trump days!
Harcourt Fenton Mudd (6b1442) — 7/3/2019 @ 10:48 am2/10
It’s like a strawman version of a strawman argument: trying to demonstrate how unpersuasive they are by making a really, really bad one.
Dave (1bb933) — 7/3/2019 @ 11:18 amIf Trump had the gift of oratory and an inclination to tell us his truth, I think we would hear this from him on 7/4, right after the tanks rumble by:
It’s a little long for Twitter, I guess. And the shade of Fredric Douglass would object to the likes of Trump stealing his righteous wrath.
https://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/what-to-the-slave-is-the-fourth-of-july/
Appalled (d07ae6) — 7/3/2019 @ 11:27 amIt’s easy to multi-task when you do everything incompetently…
Dave (1bb933) — 7/3/2019 @ 11:37 am39, just anxious to know the things that were pristine and working well before the Man defiled them. I’m sure you’ll tell us at some point.
There must be so many (“everything he touches”).
Harcourt Fenton Mudd (6b1442) — 7/3/2019 @ 1:42 pm#34
Heh… that’s why I didn’t understand the right’s complaints when Obama went golfing all the time.
I’m like… do you want more “Pen & Phone” time with Obama? Let him soak up as much time on the greens as possible.
Likewise, this parade is a harmless distraction for Trump (and ego boosting too). Let him have it.
Besides, am I the only one who wants to see tanks? I like tanks…
whembly (4605df) — 7/3/2019 @ 2:07 pmUsing our military as a partisan political prop is yet another outrage against decency and good government.
Dave (1bb933) — 7/3/2019 @ 5:39 pmThere is nothing more “political” that the Fourth of July. It celebrates the Founding of the Polity of the United States of America.
There’s a difference between using the military decoratively to celebrate the day, too, and using the day to showcase the military. I’m all for the first use, there are days more appropriate for the second.
nk (dbc370) — 7/3/2019 @ 6:22 pmWho has made it a partisan exercise yet again, Cdo I need to page admiral ackbar, put it another way go along today and have your argument tomorrow.
Narciso (d68160) — 7/3/2019 @ 6:31 pmI guess it can be boiled down to the fact that one can celebrate America, and one can celebrate MAGA, but one can celebrate one without the other….and then comes the suspicion that Trump at least is unable to distinguish between the two.
I will be doing that patriotic thing known as working tomorrow, so I guess I will miss Trump’s speech. I doubt it will rise to the level of other speeches given at that spot, but miracles do occur.
Kishnevi (17be14) — 7/3/2019 @ 6:33 pmNow this might be overkill:
https://babylonbee.com/news/at-ats-begin-arriving-in-capital-for-military-parade
Narciso (d68160) — 7/3/2019 @ 6:37 pmAnd, to be clear, I am not at all averse to using the military as Fourth of July decorations. What else do they do the rest of the time except look pretty, march up and down, and play with their “equipment”?
nk (dbc370) — 7/3/2019 @ 6:55 pmThey protect ungrateful smartasses…
Dave (1bb933) — 7/3/2019 @ 7:17 pmTHe New York Time editorialized in its July 3rd issue to let him have his parade without complaining about it.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/02/opinion/trump-july-4th-parade.html
And now there is this by an Op-Ed columnist:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/03/opinion/trump-parade-fourth-of-july.html …Don’t obsess about Donald Trump! It’s true he thought watching a bunch of tanks roll through Washington, D.C., would be a great way of celebrating our national character. Fortunately, it turned out the city streets couldn’t support his vision. The military came up with a compromise, dragging in tanks and other tanklike vehicles on flatbed trucks, in a very expensive show totally unrelated to their actual function. They really want to avoid Trump Derangement Syndrome – or is this political counsel coming from the speaker;s office perhaps?
Sammy Finkelman (845007) — 7/3/2019 @ 11:18 pmI didn’t succcessfully block quote the quotation from Gail Collns colmn.
The words:
“They really want to avoid Trump Derangement Syndrome – or is this political counsel coming from the speaker;s office perhaps?”
are mine.
Sammy Finkelman (845007) — 7/3/2019 @ 11:20 pmThat’s ahab warning about whale derangement
https://mobile.twitter.com/Jali_Cat/status/1146491203531227136
Narciso (d68160) — 7/4/2019 @ 5:21 amTruck Fump!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMERICA!
nk (dbc370) — 7/4/2019 @ 5:42 amHave a nice Fourth, everybody! Stars and Stripes Forever!
Happy fourth
https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/emma-fantuzzo/2019/07/03/msnbcs-chris-hayes-trump-hijacked-fourth-july
Narciso (d68160) — 7/4/2019 @ 6:03 amnext page cialis y alcohol cialis online american pharmacy
Eugenelab (0393a7) — 7/27/2019 @ 10:01 pm