‘Nobody's gonna be there': Trump fears empty birthday parade, insider says
Donald Trump turns 79, and to celebrate his special day with $45 million military parade. Planned to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, the celebration will include 25 tanks rolling down the streets of Washington, D.C., and military helicopters and jets thundering across the skies. There will also be a daytime festival on the National Mall followed by an evening parade, concert and fireworks.
Journalist and Trump biographer Michael Wolff told The Daily Beast Podcast, 'Although he has been going around the White House, there's a big fear that nobody's gonna turn out for this parade.'
'I mean, you're gonna have the military down the street and nobody there watching it. So they're now trying to make sure people get out. They're trying to bus in the Trump base.'
Will Barron and Melania Trump be there? That's also a big question many are asking.
ALSO READ| Will the Trump military parade be televised? Here's where to stream it live
Trump's well-known fixation with crowd sizes has shaped much of his public life. From his fiery insistence that his 2017 inauguration drew more people than Barack Obama's, to his inflated rally attendance claims—like his 2024 claim that 100,000 people came to a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania (actual count: 24,000)—Trump has long measured political success in sheer bodies.
'He's setting expectations for this, which is like, you know, there's going to be a million people,' Wolff added. 'I mean, it's Trump numbers. So two things will happen. He'll be furious that the crowds are sparse, and then he'll announce that the crowds are unprecedented in size.'
Notably, The Daily Beast reported that several GOP lawmakers cited personal obligations for skipping the event, ranging from moving homes and watching college sports to attending the Paris Air Show. One even joked they were staying away to avoid marital trouble.
ALSO READ| Trump administration to keep detaining pro-Palestine activist Mahmoud Khalil despite judge's order
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung dialled down Wolff's claim as a lie, saying, 'Michael Wolff is a lying sack of s**t and has been proven to be a fraud.'
'He routinely fabricates stories originating from his sick and warped imagination, only possible because he has a severe and debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome that has rotted his peanut-sized brain.'
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