[guest post by Dana]

Trump has always been vainglorious, and unable to see his own hypocrisy or read a room, so this is unsurprising. He had dreams of a large, flashy military parade during his first term, too, but the costs were so high, that he had to cancel his dreams. So, what better time to plan another elaborate military parade than when Americans are suffering financially as a result of Trump’s tariffs:

The Trump administration started planning a military-style parade in the D.C. area for the president’s birthday. . . The Trump administration has been contacting local leaders in the D.C. area about having a parade. The size and scope of the parade is unclear.

June 14 will be the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. It’s also Trump’s 79th birthday, a celebration that could include a parade. . .

About the costs that compelled Trump to cancel his plans last time:

[Mayor] Bowser cautioned that a true military parade with heavy equipment like tanks would come with a cost.

“Military tanks on our streets would not be good,” she said. “If military tanks were used, they should be accompanied with many millions of dollars to repair the roads.”

. . .

Infrastructure like the 14th Street Bridge would have to be tested to see if it could support the parade, officials said.

. . .

“The military leaders said it would cost too much, nearly $90 million; Mayor Bowser. . . said it would cost us $20 million just for public safety. . . “So, he canceled it — angrily canceled it. But this time around, it doesn’t sound like he is gonna cancel.”

Given that it’s several years later, one can reasonably assume that costs have only gone up, thus that would still be a vexing problem for Trump. Additionally, the optics of spending a massive amount of (taxpayer?) money during a shaky economy would be awful. I don’t think that Trump, personally, would be bothered by this, but one hopes that his chief of staff and advisors would press the point.

Mostly though, because Trump is basically a toddler who, when he wants something, has to have it, he will ignore reasonable warnings and do what he wants to do. One-time compliance was enough. After all, if his friends are doing it, why can’t he??!!

—Dana