Trump says US Army's first military parade in 34 years will be 'like no other'. Here's what we know
Thousands of soldiers, tanks and aircraft will be on show in Washington as the United States Army marks its 250th birthday on Saturday local time, culminating in a massive military parade.
The last time the US held such an event was in 1991 under president George HW Bush to mark the end of the Gulf War.
The event — which coincides with US President Donald Trump's 79th birthday — will likely divide the American public, Todd Belt of George Washington University said.
"If you like Donald Trump you're going to love this," Professor Belt said.
"You're going to this as he is being strong and making America great again and restoring America's greatness. If you hate him, you're going to see this as a vast expenditure and a pseudo-fascist sort of exercise."
While the army has said it has no plans to recognise Trump's birthday, the president is expected to play a major role in the celebrations, which have been altered to include a parade the president has promised will be "like no other".
Professor Belt said staging a military parade in the US ran contrary to the country's political ethos.
"One of the things about authoritarian regimes and the use of military parades is that it creates a unity around the state and around the leader," he said.
"Whereas in the United States we came out of a revolution where we reject kings, and we are very individual here and so it's very different in the United States."
The displays and celebrations are set to cost the US Army between $US25 million ($38 million) and $US45 million, with some critics calling it an authoritarian display of power.
The event is set to feature 6,600 soldiers, 150 vehicles, 50 aircraft and fireworks.
The celebration for the anniversary includes an army birthday festival on the National Mall before a parade through the capital and an enlistment and re-enlistment ceremony presided over by the president.
After the parade, the army's parachute exhibition team known as the Golden Knights will parachute in and present Trump with a flag.
While big military displays at this level are not as common in the United States, they are held regularly in countries such as North Korea and Russia who use them to try to intimidate or send a message to less friendly nations, and also to showcase their military might.
Pyongyang and Moscow also use such parades to celebrate their leaders, mark war anniversaries, as well as showcase their latest achievements in nuclear weapon advances.
The US Army displayed a range of military aircraft at Joint Base Andrews on Thursday as a preview of the upcoming celebrations.
Featuring CH-47 Chinooks, UH-60 Black Hawks, and AH-64 Apaches, the display showcased the Army's aviation capabilities and are part of a larger array of military equipment set to be featured in a flyover during Saturday's event.
Several activist groups are planning more than 1,800 anti-Trump demonstrations across the country on the same day.
Organised by a group called No Kings, it follows several days of protests against federal immigration raids including in Los Angeles.
"They've defied our courts, deported Americans, disappeared people off the streets, attacked our civil rights and slashed our services," the group says on its website.
"The corruption has gone too far. No thrones. No crowns. No kings."
The president has promised protesters who do attend the Washington celebration that they will be "met with very big force".
Australian Strategic Policy Institute senior analyst Malcolm Davis questioned the cost and timing of the parade given the demonstrations that were expected to take place across the country as well as in Los Angeles.
"It will be interesting to see how it goes, especially with the anti-ICE protests occurring across America — now taking the form of No Kings marches," Dr Davis told the ABC.
"To my knowledge, there aren't any demos planned for DC, but if one did, that could see a harsh response."
Davis said the parade seemed to be about one thing only — and it wasn't the US Army.
"I think Trump is trying to play to his base and also inflate his own ego and make himself the centre of attention," he said.
"He's also infatuated with authoritarian leaders like Putin and Kim Jong Un and their approach to power. So this parade is a gift to his own ego, at the expense of the US taxpayer."
with Reuters
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
US politician and husband killed, others injured, after madman posing as cop shoots them
A Minnesota state politician and her husband were killed, and another politician and his wife were seriously injured in a 'politically motivated attack' when a madman posing as a police officer turned up at their homes and opened fire, authorities said. Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were gunned down in their Brooklyn Park home shortly after 2am on Saturday local time (4pm AET), The NY Post reports. The pair was killed after the gunman targeted Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, in their Champlin home roughly 8kms away. The Hoffmans were rushed into surgery and are in stable condition, officials said at a news conference. Gov. Tim Walz called the shootings 'an unspeakable tragedy,' and said the incident 'appears to be a politically motivated assassination.' The shootings came at a moment of deep political divisions in the United States, as thousands prepared to take to the streets in protest at the policies of Republican President Donald Trump. The Republican president has drawn criticism from Democrats over his harsh deportation policy, his assault on universities and the media and a perceived flouting of limits on executive power as he pushes his agenda. 'At this precipice moment we're on, this tragic act here in Minnesota should serve as a reminder to all of us,' Walz said. 'The democracy and the debates in the halls of Congress, in state houses, in school boards, is a way to settle our differences peacefully and move society to a better place. The suspect is still on the run, despite making contact with police in the aftermath of the Hortman double homicide, according to Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley. Officers dispatched to Hortman's home as other units investigated the Hoffman shooting discovered a car outfitted with flashing lights to look like an SUV squad car. 'When they arrived at Melissa's house, they noticed that there was a police vehicle in the driveway with the emergency lights on and what appeared to be a police officer at the door coming out of the house,' Mr Bruley said, adding that the suspect was wearing a vest, a badge and other equipment, such as a Taser, 'very similar to mine.' 'When our officers confronted him, the individual immediately fired upon the officers, who exchanged gunfire, and the suspect retreated back into the home,' he continued. 'It was not a real police officer. This is someone that clearly had been impersonating a police officer who uses the trust of this badge and this uniform to manipulate their way into the home.' Gunfire was exchanged, but the suspect escaped on foot. Mark Hortman was alive when Brooklyn Park police entered the home, but he died as they attempted to deliver lifesaving measures. Melissa Hortman was declared dead at the scene. As the mayhem unfolded, first responders rushed the Hoffmans to a nearby hospital. The couple had each been pumped with multiple bullets, but survived the attack. A manhunt is on for the suspect, who was wearing black body armour over a blue shirt and blue pants. Cops ordered a shelter-in-place for the 4km radius surrounding the Edinburgh Golf Course near Melissa Hortman's home. 'Police are looking for a suspect in multiple targeted shootings who is armed and dangerous,' Brooklyn Park Police said in an emergency alert sent to residents at 5:30am. 'Suspect is white male, brown hair, wearing black body armour over blue shirt and blue pants and may misrepresent himself as law enforcement.'
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
Minnesota lawmaker shot dead, another wounded in targeted attack
A gunman shot two Democratic state lawmakers in Minnesota early Saturday, killing one and her husband and wounding the other, in what the northern US state's governor said were "politically motivated" attacks. The shootings came at a moment of deep political divisions in the United States, as thousands prepared to take to the streets in protest at the policies of Republican President Donald Trump. The suspected assailant was still at large, officials said, with a massive manhunt underway. US President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi decried what they called "horrific violence" and said the perpetrators would be prosecuted to "the fullest extent of the law." State representative Melissa Hortman -- the former speaker -- and her husband Mark were killed at their home near Minneapolis, Governor Tim Walz told a press conference. State senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette were shot and wounded, the governor said, his voice breaking with emotion. He said officials remained "cautiously optimistic" they would recover. "This was an act of targeted political violence," Walz told reporters. "Peaceful discourse is the foundation of our democracy. We don't settle our differences with violence or at gunpoint." Drew Evans, superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said Hoffman and his wife were shot first, and as police investigated, Hortman and her husband were shot about 90 minutes later. The suspected gunman was able to escape during an exchange of gunfire with officers near Hortman's residence, Evans told reporters. "We're actively searching for that individual right now," he said. In both cases, authorities believe the assailant was impersonating a law enforcement officer, ABC News reported, quoting a source familiar with the investigation. Police are looking for a white man with brown hair, wearing black body armor over a blue shirt and blue pants, local TV station KSTP said. The United States has been deeply divided since Trump returned to the White House in January. The Republican president has drawn criticism from Democrats over his harsh deportation policy, his assault on universities and the media and a perceived flouting of limits on executive power as he pushes his agenda. "At this precipice moment we're on, this tragic act here in Minnesota should serve as a reminder to all of us," Walz said. "The democracy and the debates in the halls of Congress, in state houses, in school boards, is a way to settle our differences peacefully and move society to a better place."
ABC News
3 hours ago
- ABC News
Manhunt after two US politicians targeted in their homes by gunman
A manhunt is underway after two US state politicians were shot in their homes, one fatally, in pre-dawn attacks. Authorities have asked residents of two Minneapolis suburbs to stay inside as they searched for the suspect, who allegedly posed as a police officer and shot two Democrats, state senator John Hoffman and state House representative Melissa Hortman. Ms Hortman and her husband were both killed. Mr Hoffman and his wife were both injured after being shot multiple times, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said. Mr Walz said in a post on X that he was "briefed this morning on an ongoing situation involving targeted shootings in Champlin and Brooklyn Park. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety and local law enforcement are on the scene". Amy Klobuchar, one of Minnesota's Democratic US senators, condemned the "stunning act of violence" in a post on X, saying her prayers "are with the Hortman and Hoffman families. Both legislators are close friends and devoted to their families and public service". Mr Walz said he had activated Minnesota's Emergency Operations Center and was providing the police in the two suburbs "the full resources" of the state. Reuters/ABC
