Trump's military show of force in LA and DC camouflage his failing presidency
Trump's military show of force in LA and DC camouflage his failing presidency | Opinion President Trump has a long history of disrespecting the U.S. military. This parade just adds to that truth.
Show Caption
Hide Caption
Armored tanks arrive in DC for Trump's military birthday parade
As Washington, D.C. prepares for the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, armored tanks have begun to arrive ahead of Saturday's celebration.
President Trump's military deployments in Los Angeles and Washington, DC, are seen as displays of dominance and distractions from his struggling agenda.
The deployments are costly, with the Los Angeles deployment estimated at $134 million and the DC parade at $45 million, amid criticism of their necessity and potential damage.
Trump's threats of 'heavy force' against protesters at the DC parade raise concerns, given his history of inciting violence and admiration for authoritarian leaders.
A poll shows widespread public opposition to the cost of the D.C. parade, with 75% of Americans disapproving.
President Donald Trump's twin military spectacles – one already underway in Los Angeles, the other set for June 14 on the streets of Washington, DC – are deployments attempting to demonstrate dominance over his critics while also serving as distractions from his flailing agenda.
Trump has failed in his promise to deport millions of undocumented people, and his One Big Beautiful Bill Act is going bust as his own Republican allies battle about the budget and how it will swell our nation's deficit.
This poorly camouflaged study, in contrast, shows us that any self-styled strongman who feels compelled to fill the streets with soldiers and tanks is really just revealing how very weak he really is.
Trump's big birthday parade is going to cost taxpayers millions
Trump is wasting an estimated $134 million to send 4,000 National Guard members and 700 U.S. Marines to Los Angeles, where local leaders and law enforcement have competently made the case that the deployment is unnecessary, because they've got a handle on the protests that the president's deport-them-all policy has provoked.
Trump is blowing at least an additional $45 million – really, who thinks this nonsense will come in on budget? – for a June 14 military parade, which by no coincidence at all is also his 79th birthday.
This ostentatious boondoggle in the nation's capital is something Trump has been craving since the first year of his first term, eight years ago.
Opinion: Trump is so busy wasting $134 million on LA invasion he forgot to lower prices
Trump craves control and needs you to see it. So see this for what it really is.
He doesn't care about apt analogies, but you might, since you're paying for them. The U.S. Army estimates that tanks in the parade may cause about $16 million in damage to Washington's streets – an all-too-perfect example of how Trump is willfully trashing our government and melts down in tantrums when anyone gets in his way.
A petulant president gets what he wants on his birthday. And he'll happily turn that military against his critics if they complain.
Trump threatens 'heavy force' against protesters because he's so tough
The Washington parade hasn't even started, and Trump and his staff are already struggling to stay on the same page.
Trump, speaking at the White House on June 10, warned that any protesters at his parade "will be met with very heavy force." That was in response to a question about protests that made no mention of violence. But Trump doesn't care that our Constitution guarantees the right to protest our government.
That raises more questions. Karoline Leavitt, Trump's press secretary, called it a "stupid question" a day later when a journalist asked if peaceful protests would be allowed during the parade. That's one of Trump's top talking heads telling us it's stupid to take him at his word.
But we have to ask, right?
Sign up for our Opinion newsletter on people, power and policies in the time of Trump from columnist Chris Brennan. Get it delivered to your inbox.
Trump has a well-documented history of inciting violence when he thinks he might benefit from it. He doesn't just use violence as a tool. He's a longtime fan, having praised the Chinese government during an interview 35 years ago for showing "the power of strength" after massacring at least 300 people during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protest.
This is the true source of Trump's strongman envy. He wants unchecked power to do whatever he wants, just like the many dictators around the planet that he so openly admires.
Trump has a history of disrespecting the military. The parade will just be the latest example.
You know who Trump doesn't admire? That would be people who actually serve in the military.
His transmogrification of the Republican Party's respect for military service tracks back to his first run for president, where his five draft deferments to avoid service in the Vietnam War were shrugged off by the party's voters.
They didn't care when the family of the podiatrist who diagnosed him with "bone spurs" in one of those deferments went public in 2018 to say that was a favor for Trump's dad, who happened to be the doctor's landlord.
Opinion: Trump expects institutions like ABC to play by the rules he refuses to follow
He mocked John McCain, the late U.S. senator from Arizona and former Republican nominee for president, in 2015 for being shot down as a U.S. Navy aviator in Vietnam.
And, most notoriously, Trump derided members of the U.S. military who died in action as "losers" and "suckers" while speaking in his first presidential term to his chief of staff John Kelly, a retired U.S. Marine Corps general whose son died in combat in 2010.
Trump has denied that, but Kelly in 2023 confirmed Trump's comments to CNN.
Who do you want to believe here, the notorious draft dodger or a Gold Star dad who spent a life in service to his country and lost a son on the battlefield in Afghanistan?
Maybe America has already decided about all this. The Public Religion Research Institute, in a poll released June 10, found that 3 out of 4 Americans oppose spending $45 million on Trump's parade.
That included 52% of Republicans, 93% of Democrats and 80% of independents.
Don't expect Trump to care about that, either. He'll declare victory, no matter what happens next. Stay focused on the money you pay in taxes so he can play strongman with a military he can't respect. This is a trial run. He wants the role for real. And he knows we can stop him.
Follow USA TODAY columnist Chris Brennan on X, formerly known as Twitter: @ByChrisBrennan. Sign up for his weekly newsletter, Translating Politics, here.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Politico
6 minutes ago
- Politico
Crucial megabill changes could come today
Presented by IN TODAY'S EDITION:— Senate Finance to tweak Medicaid, tax plans— What's in Senate Homeland, Judiciary's megabill texts— Possible changes ahead for rescissions Senate Finance Republicans could release their all-important megabill text as soon as today, outlining changes to Medicaid cuts and President Donald Trump's tax incentives. Senate Majority Leader John Thune met with the president at the White House on Thursday and told our Jordain Carney afterwards to expect Trump's campaign promises, like tax relief for tips and overtime work, to be intact in the bill text. 'The president wants his priorities,' Thune said in our brief Thursday evening interview. His comments come after Senate Republicans had been contemplating rolling some of Trump's tax policies back to make room for larger business tax cuts. But there are strategic reasons for Senate Finance Chair Mike Crapo to postpone release of his committee's text until next week. Generally, lawmakers don't like tax legislation to sit out in the daylight for lobbyists to pick apart. The bill text could also drive key policy disagreements. Sen. Josh Hawley said if the text doesn't ease up enough on the proposed Medicaid cuts, he would be willing to force a vote on the Senate floor that could include a rollback of limits on taxes that fund state obligations for the program. 'I'd be happy to amend the bill on the floor. Quote me on that,' Hawley told reporters on Thursday. 'I don't think that's probably what leadership wants.' There could also be major heartburn for blue-state House Republicans if the bill text waters down their $40,000 state-and-local-tax deduction cap. In a notable moment during Thursday's House vote on the rescissions package, one of the hardcore SALTers, Rep. Nick LaLota, suddenly switched his vote from 'no' to 'yes' after a huddle with House Speaker Mike Johnson on the floor. He declined to confirm whether SALT had to do with his flip, but said: 'I expect constituents will be quite pleased when they get $40,000 worth of SALT.' Other must-reads on megabill dynamics this morning: — Where GOP leaders are smoothing things over: Republican senators and the White House now view Senate hard-liners Ron Johnson, Mike Lee and Rick Scott as on track to support the megabill they've railed against for not slashing enough spending, Jordain reports this morning (Pros got it last night). Johnson softened his tone after convincing Trump in a one-on-one phone call to let him work with administration officials on his deficit-reduction plan. The Wisconsin Republican subsequently met with Vice President JD Vance and National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett. — Where GOP tensions are rising: Homeland Security Chair Rand Paul and Budget Chair Lindsey Graham released dueling proposals for Homeland's portion of the megabill late Thursday, after GOP leaders deemed the conservative numbers Paul put forward as unworkable. — What else the GOP is tweaking: Senate Judiciary's take on the megabill, also released late Thursday, includes new immigration fees and a carrot for Hawley (reauthorization of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act). But it leaves out House-passed language to limit the ability of federal courts to enforce contempt orders and a deregulatory provision known as the REINS Act. Republicans could still try to get a version of REINS past the parliamentarian. TGIF. Happy Friday the 13th! Email your Inside Congress scribes at bguggenheim@ lkashinsky@ mmccarthy@ and crazor@ Follow our live coverage at the Inside Congress blog at THE SKED The House is out. The Senate is out. Next week: The House is out of session next week. The Senate will continue working through Trump's nominations, including Gary Andres to be assistant secretary at HHS, and will take a final vote Tuesday on a landmark stablecoin regulatory framework. THE LEADERSHIP SUITE GOP leaders show support for Israel after strike on Iran Republicans were quick to post messages of support after Israel launched what it described as a 'preemptive' military strike aimed at Iran's nuclear facilities. Johnson posted an Israeli flag on X Thursday night, stating 'Israel IS right — and has a right — to defend itself!' Thune posted a warning to Iran and a commitment from the Senate to help Israel. 'The United States Senate stands ready to work with President Trump and with our allies in Israel to restore peace in the region and, first and foremost, to defend the American people from Iranian aggression, especially our troops and civilians serving overseas,' Thune said in a post on X. 'Iran should heavily consider the consequences before considering any action against Americans in the region.' See also from Rachael Bade late last night: MAGA warned Trump on Iran. Now he's in an impossible position. Padilla incident divides top Republicans Johnson suggested the Senate should censure Sen. Alex Padilla after the California Democrat interrupted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's Los Angeles press conference Friday and was forcibly removed and handcuffed by officers. Johnson told reporters Padilla's 'behavior … rises to the level of a censure' and that 'there needs to be a message sent by the body as a whole that this is not what we're going to do.' Padilla is unlikely to face Senate reprimand — the last time a member was censured was in 1990, for fiscal improprieties. Even if he was formally rebuked, unlike in the House, Padilla wouldn't be stripped of rights and privileges. Thune didn't go as far. He said Thursday evening that he had spoken to Padilla and reached out to Noem but hadn't connected yet. 'We want to get the full scope of what happened, and do what we would do on any incident like this involving a senator, which is to try to gather all the relevant information,' Thune said. Meanwhile, top Democrats have rushed to Padilla's defense. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who spoke to Padilla Thursday afternoon and said he's 'standing strong,' said the incident 'reeks of totalitarianism' and demanded 'answers now.' House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said 'every single person who was involved in manhandling Senator Padilla should be held accountable to the full extent of the law.' Dozens of House Democrats marched to Hill GOP leaders' offices Thursday afternoon in protest (though Thune and Johnson weren't there). Several are demanding Noem testify before Congress; some even called for her to resign. Thune gears up for another spending fight The Senate majority leader is already signaling that the $9.4 billion rescissions package narrowly passed by the House Thursday 'could be' changed in the Senate. 'We'll see,' he told reporters Thursday. But even senators pushing for changes acknowledge that doing so would be highly complicated. That includes Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, who reiterated to Lisa Thursday that she's concerned with several aspects of the White House's request to rescind funding for public broadcasting and foreign assistance. Sen. Lisa Murkowski told Calen Wednesday evening that she's worried about potentially defunding local Alaska affiliates of NPR and PBS. Thune said he expects to take up the rescissions package in July. Congress has until midnight on July 18 to act on the legislation, otherwise the proposal will expire and the White House is required to spend the money as lawmakers intended. Schumer's 'DEFCON 1' approach to saving clean-energy credits Schumer is tapping a wide network of allies to help him sway Republicans away from wholesale repeals of green credits from the Biden-era climate law he helped pass. The New York Democrat told our POLITICO E&E News colleague Kelsey Brugger he's strategized with clean-energy executives and enlisted a group of people to call 16 senators who have shown 'some discomfort' with the repeals. That includes advocates; tech executives; governors with major renewables investments; Duke Energy and Southern Co. executives; Sean McGarvey, president of North America's Building Trades Unions and even 'friendly' Trump administration officials. Senate Republicans left town saying they're considering various pathways to back away from the House's harsh rollbacks by extending phaseout timelines and easing other restrictions. Sen. John Curtis, a leading defender of the credits, told our Josh Siegel Thursday that 'we're getting to a good place' and he's 'encouraged' by the state of conversations. Sen. Thom Tillis, another advocate, told Lisa Thursday that Republicans are still putting baseline text together. POLICY RUNDOWN CRUZ'S FED RESERVE PLAN HITS A SNAG — A group of Republicans is questioning a proposal from Sen. Ted Cruz that would bar the Federal Reserve from paying interest to banks, potentially dooming its chances of making it into the GOP megabill, our Jasper Goodman and Victoria Guida report. Cruz, the Senate Commerce chair, and other Republicans argue that stopping the Fed from paying interest to financial institutions that keep reserves at the central bank could deliver large savings over the next decade if passed in the party-line bill. But Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott, whose panel has jurisdiction over the Fed, rejected the idea of including it in the 'big, beautiful bill,' saying in a statement on Thursday that it 'is not a decision to be rushed.' 'Any legislative change to the Federal Reserve's framework must follow regular order,' he said, as opposed to through the reconciliation process. TICK TOCK ON TIKTOK — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testified on Thursday that the uncertain fate of TikTok in the U.S. is not a part of the ongoing trade talks with China, our Anthony Adragna reports. Bessent's comments to the Senate Finance Committee came a day after Trump touted a 'deal' with China following trade talks in London. Congress passed a bill last year requiring the ban on TikTok in the U.S. if it was not sold from Beijing-owned ByteDance. But Trump has pushed back enforcement of the ban with two 75-day extensions. The next deadline is June 19, but Trump has floated yet another extension. GOP GRILLS 'SANCTUARY' STATE GOVS — GOP lawmakers on Thursday hammered blue-state Govs. Kathy Hochul, Tim Walz and JB Pritzker over their states' so-called sanctuary policies as Republicans look to cast Democrats as soft on immigration enforcement in upcoming elections. The House Oversight hearing served as a platform for politically ambitious Republicans to test their attacks, our Shia Kapos, Emily Ngo and Elena Schneider report. Rep. Elise Stefanik, who's weighing a bid for Hochul's job after Trump yanked her nomination for U.N. ambassador, grilled the governor over undocumented immigrants accused of violent crimes in New York. 'These are horrific crimes, and they're heartbreaking,' Hochul sought to interject. But Stefanik cut her off: 'They're horrific crimes that are committed on your watch.' The Democratic governors walked a careful line, attempting to balance immigrants' rights while insisting that undocumented people with criminal records should be deported and casting immigration enforcement as a federal issue. But the hearing also highlighted tensions within the Democratic Party over immigration policy and messaging, as protests over the Trump administration's ICE raids spread from Los Angeles to other cities. Best of POLITICO Pro and E&E: CAMPAIGN STOP NEW CAMPAIGN ETHICS WORKING GROUP — The House Ethics Committee is launching a subpanel to review its guidance on campaign activities, our Hailey Fuchs reports. The new working group on the bipartisan committee was announced Thursday and will be led by GOP Rep. Nathaniel Moran and Democratic Rep. Sylvia Garcia, both of Texas. The two members will 'review and make recommendations to improve, clarify, and modernize the Committee's guidance regarding campaign activity by House Members, officers, and employees,' according to the committee. THE BEST OF THE REST Officers sue to compel Congress to install a Jan. 6 riot memorial at Capitol, from Michael Kunzelman at The Associated Press Democratic Lawmakers Are Taking Out Liability Insurance As Trump Ramps Up Legal Threats, from Oriana González and Riley Rogerson at NOTUS House passes bill that would void DC 'sanctuary' policies, from Jim Saksa at Roll Call CAPITOL HILL INFLUENCE FIRST IN INSIDE CONGRESS: NEW CODEL — A bipartisan group of House lawmakers is scheduled to leave for the first-ever privately sponsored congressional trip focused on the Abraham Accords today, Nicholas Wu writes in. Reps. Brad Schneider, Jimmy Panetta, Zach Nunn and Don Bacon are traveling to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Israel for a trip hosted by the Atlantic Council's N7 Initiative. They'll head into a volatile political environment after Israel launched a strike against Iran last night, though we're told the trip is still on. JOB BOARD Austin Gage is now a senior associate at Innovative Federal Strategies. He previously was legislative director and counsel for Rep. Hal Rogers. HAPPY BIRTHDAY Rep. Jerry Nadler … Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton … POLITICO's Eli Stokols … Carnegie Mellon's Margaret Harding McGill … Patrick Cuff … Kirtan Mehta … Mara Liasson … Andrew Lavigne … Society for Vascular Surgery's Dylan Lopez … Michelle Korsmo … National Journal's Casey Wooten … John Del Cecato of AKPD Message and Media … Victoria Maloch … Jo Eckert … Jessica Ek of American Cleaning Institute … Sarah Lovenheim … Landy Wade of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand's office … Trent Allen … Patrick McGill … Will King of the House Natural Resources Committee TRIVIA THURSDAY'S ANSWER: Gregory Clark correctly answered that Ron Paul was the fiscal hawk who hit a home run out of the park in the 1979 Congressional Baseball Game. TODAY'S QUESTION, from our Katherine Tully-McManus: Name the former House lawmaker whose insider trading indictment included video footage of the White House Congressional Picnic.
Politico
11 minutes ago
- Politico
The Senate GOP's hard-liners are suddenly sounding softer on the megabill
The Senate's conservative hard-liners vowed to wage holy war against the 'big, beautiful bill.' Now they appear to be coming to Jesus. The recent rhetorical downshift from some of the loudest GOP critics of the pending megabill underscores the political reality for conservatives: As much as they want to rail publicly about the legislation and the need to address any number of pressing national emergencies in it, very few are willing to buck President Donald Trump on his biggest priority. None of them are ready to cave just yet. But the White House and their GOP colleagues increasingly believe that three senators in particular — Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Mike Lee of Utah and Rick Scott of Florida — are now on track to support the bill. Johnson, in particular, has softened his once-fierce criticism of the legislation in recent days. 'We all want to see President Trump succeed,' he said in a brief interview this week. 'Everybody is trying to help. That's why, if I seem to have been striking a more hopeful tone, it's because I am more hopeful.' Just a couple of weeks ago, Johnson was demanding near-unworkable levels of spending cuts and warning that the bill would drive the nation off a fiscal cliff. Then the Trump administration and members of Republican leadership went to work. Johnson made a pitch to Trump during a recent one-on-one phone call to let him work with administration officials on his deficit reduction plan. That led to a meeting with Vice President JD Vance and Kevin Hassett, the director of the National Economic Council. A person with knowledge of the meeting, granted anonymity to speak candidly, said afterward that the White House is 'optimistic that there's a path to getting Johnson to yes.' Trump also privately urged Johnson during a meeting with other Finance Committee Republicans last week to speak more positively about the bill. The callout came after Trump officials — and Trump himself — grew annoyed watching Johnson savage the bill on television. His message: You should be out there selling this bill proudly, he told Johnson, according to two White House officials granted anonymity to describe the meeting — arguing that even if he doesn't love every detail, there was plenty in the bill for Republicans to be proud of. 'When the president says, 'Ron, you've been so negative, that's just not even helpful,' I want to be helpful,' Johnson said, acknowledging Trump's message in the meeting and admitting he has 'downplayed what is good in the bill.' One of the White House officials summarized the approach to Johnson: 'Don't be negative to create leverage for yourself,' the person said. 'If you want to negotiate, like, we can negotiate in private. We're all reasonable people.' The hands-on efforts to win over Johnson are part of a larger effort to try to help the fiscal hawks find a soft landing — and at least the semblance of some concessions that will be able to hold up as wins in the end. That's played out in face-to-face meetings with administration officials, negotiations over pet provisions and discussions about how to continue the fight to cut budget deficits down the road. Being able to win over their deficit hawks would be a huge boon to Majority Leader John Thune, who has acknowledged that he's got one hard 'no' vote in Sen. Rand Paul, who firmly opposes the bill's debt-ceiling hike. Thune can only afford to lose three GOP senators, with Vance breaking a tie. That has given the fiscal hawks leverage, since the GOP leaders can't afford to lose all of them, and that's on top of the other potential headaches they have to navigate elsewhere in the conference. To hear the fiscal hawks tell it, they are sounding a more positive note about their ability to support the bill because the administration is starting to take their demands seriously. To help appease their holdouts, GOP leaders have tried to scrounge up additional savings beyond what is included in the House bill. 'I believe we'll get a deal done. I'm doing everything I can to represent my state,' Scott said in a brief interview. GOP leaders are working to assuage Lee by tucking one of his top priorities into the bill. The deregulatory proposal, known as the REINS Act, was initially expected to run afoul of Senate rules for the party-line reconciliation process, but leaders have been working to try to find a version that could pass muster. House conservatives, meanwhile, have grown increasingly worried that the Senate, with the blessing of their fiscal-hawk allies, will send back a bill that waters down some of their hard-fought victories. The House Freedom Caucus has laid out public demands, while its members have met privately with Lee, Scott and Johnson to strategize about additional spending reductions and maintaining their policy wins. The Senate hard-liners aren't ready to concede just yet. Senate Budget Chair Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has promised Johnson he will advance a second reconciliation bill, giving conservatives another chance to enact cuts. But Johnson said that wouldn't be enough to get him on board. Instead he wants a 'forcing mechanism' to maintain a longer-term push to return to 2019 spending levels. He's letting the White House brainstorm other ideas and described himself as 'reasonably flexible.' Lee said in a statement he's 'been working with my colleagues and the White House to make the Big Bill Beautiful.' But added: 'It's not where it needs to be yet.' 'We need to sell federal land to help fix the housing crisis, terminate benefits that flow to illegals, end the Green New Scam, and get rid of the Medicaid provider tax. I want to see this effort cross the finish line, but we need to do more,' he added. Even as they continue to push, their colleagues see the signs of late softening — and aren't surprised whatsoever. 'They'll fold,' said a GOP colleague who was granted anonymity to speak candidly. Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) said that Republicans have 'made progress' with Johnson and 'I wouldn't count him out.' And two others, Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and John Kennedy (R-La.), said they expect Lee, Scott and Johnson to come around when the bill comes up for a final vote, even if they don't ultimately love every provision. 'They're very gettable,' Kennedy said. 'At some point people are just going to have to decide, is this good enough?' Rachael Bade and Meredith Lee Hill contributed reporting.
Fox News
22 minutes ago
- Fox News
Trump aware of Israel strikes on Iran beforehand, says there were no surprises
President Donald Trump told Fox News Channel's chief political anchor Bret Baier on Thursday he was aware that Israel was going to conduct preemptive strikes on Iran before they happened. "Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb, and we are hoping to get back to the negotiating table. We will see. There are several people in leadership in Iran that will not be coming back," Trump said. Israeli strikes on Iran killed three of the country's top military commanders, including Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Hossein Salami, Chief of the Iranian Armed Forces Mohammad Hossein Bagheri and Commander of Iran's Emergency Command Gholam-Ali Rashid. Trump has spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu several times in recent days. The Trump administration reached out to at least one key Middle Eastern ally to acknowledge that the strike was going to happen, but said that the U.S. was not involved in the strikes. The president said he hopes Iran returns to the negotiating table, though Iran has signaled its intention to pull out of further talks. U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and his team had been scheduled to meet with their Iranian counterparts in Oman on Sunday. Israeli forces used around 200 fighter jets to strike targets in Iran, destroying dozens of radars and surface-to-air missile launchers as well as nuclear facilities. Iran launched around 100 retaliatory drones toward Israel hours later which Israeli forces said they were working to intercept. Trump said he is watching for any retaliation, and U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) is on high alert. He noted that the U.S. is ready to defend itself and Israel if Iran retaliates. In recent weeks, the U.S. has replenished Iron Dome missiles. The president is expected to attend a National Security Council meeting later Friday morning.
