Donald Trump’s large-scale, high-cost military parade—which corresponds with Flag Day, the Army’s 250th anniversary, and the president’s 79th birthday—is stepping down Constitution Avenue in Washington, DC on a wet and dreary Saturday as anti-Trump “No Kings” protests take place in cities nationwide.
“President Trump wants tanks in the street and a made-for-TV display of dominance for his birthday,” the No Kings protest website reads, “A spectacle meant to look like strength.” “But,” the organizers continue, “real power isn’t staged in Washington. It rises up everywhere else.”
The concurrent demonstrations come after weeks of preparation for the president’s display of military might. Trump’s all-day event—which includes Army fitness competitions, a parade of military vehicles and thousands of service members, and a concert accompanied by fireworks—fulfills a long-held goal for the president, one that, during his first term in office, had been squashed. This time around, he’s going big. It is expected to be the largest military parade in the nation’s capital since the end of the first Gulf War in 1991, per The Washington Post.
In total, according to a spokeswoman for the Army, the parade comes with a price tag of up to $45 million, though, until the activities have concluded and any needed repairs assessed, the final cost remains unknown.
About 150 ground vehicles, 6,600 soldiers, and 50 aircraft will appear in the parade, organized by each major era of the Army’s history, according to the Pentagon. Much of the cost included painting, preparing, and transporting these military vessels across the country. Flights in and out of Reagan National Airport will be halted for the military flyovers in the evening and, while the airport will remain open, flights in and out—around 100 total arrivals and departures—will be delayed for an average of about three hours.
The opposition is also going big. The No Kings protests are organized by the same groups who crafted the nationwide “Hands Off!” demonstrations in April: including Indivisible, the American Civil Liberties Union, and 50501. According to The New York Times, the demonstrations are “expected to be among the largest since the president’s second term began.” Protests are expected in all 50 states and several other countries, with main events slated for Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, New York, Phoenix, Philadelphia, and Charlotte, NC.
Notably, there are no demonstrations planned for Washington, DC, where the Trump administration has its parade. A local group within the city called Free DC is hosting a “DC Joy Day” at Anacostia Park on Saturday to celebrate the city’s “people, culture, and our connections to one another,” according to its website.
