Tanks and thousands of soldiers marched in DC Army parade. What was the cost?
The cost of the military parade was initially estimated at $25 million to $45 million. The money covered the cost of hauling dozens of tanks and armored vehicles by train and truck from military bases in Texas to the nation's capital. Approximately 7,000 soldiers also converged on Washington for the occasion, with some marching the route in historic costumes. Warplanes flew overhead, and Army parachutists sailed down from the skies before a crowd of thousands.
The Army's final tabulation does not include the cost of the parade's significant security requirements, including for the Secret Service, Department of Homeland Security, FBI and local police personnel to secure a chunk of downtown Washington and monitor possible threats. The parade was designated as a "National Security Special Event," a category for large events that could be targets for terrorist attacks and thus require additional work for law enforcement.
Before the parade, authorities laid down 18.5 miles of fencing and installed 175 magnetometers to screen everyone who entered the restricted area to watch the parade or participate in the Army festival held that day.
Local officials in Washington raised concerns in the lead-up to the parade about possible damage to city streets. Officials on July 22 said that it did not turn out to be a major problem.
Steve Warren, an Army spokesperson, said damage done by the tanks to Washington's roads was "minimal" – one street curb at a park along the Potomac River was crushed. The Army had promised to cover the cost of repairs for damage to the city's roads after Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said she was "concerned" the tanks would chew them up.
Critics, including Democratic lawmakers, said the parade politicized the military in a celebration of Trump's birthday that seemed reminiscent of the ostentatious scenes to celebrate dictators abroad. Trump presided over the parade from a presidential booth, but the Army and White House denied allegations that his birthday was the reason for the event or that the timing was intentional.
Trump opponents across the country held thousands of "No Kings Day" protests on the day of the parade. Demonstrators in Washington marched to the White House in a "Refuse Fascism" protest.
Warren said the Army experienced a marketing boost in the two weeks leading up to the parade, including a spike in website and social media views and a 31% increase in incoming calls.
"We wanted Americans to feel connected to the Army," he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
James Carville Gives Fox News Viewers An Uncomfortable Reminder About Jeffrey Epstein
Longtime Democratic strategist James Carville on Thursday reminded Fox News viewers of a name that's rarely heard on the right-wing network: Jeffrey Epstein, the late convicted sex offender who was once close with President Donald Trump. Fox News host Jesse Watters asked Carville if Democrats would consider Hunter Biden, son of former President Joe Biden, as a possible presidential candidate. 'You know, everybody in the world is talking about Epstein, and Fox is still talking about Biden's memory,' Carville said. 'That's so long ago I can't even remember it.' 'Well, do you want to talk about Epstein?' Watters asked. 'I don't mind talking about Epstein,' said Carville. Carville's reminder comes as a new report found that Fox News has indeed shied away from Epstein coverage ― just as Trump has asked. The report by Media Matters for America finds that on Monday, for example, Fox News mentioned former President Barack Obama 117 times and Epstein just twice. Carville and Watters resumed talking about the Bidens but returned to Epstein later in the segment. 'I wasn't even going to bring Epstein up,' Watters said. 'But because you did, do you, James Carville, a Clinton guy, think that the Democrats should be begging for the release of the Epstein files?' Like Trump, former President Bill Clinton was also once close with Epstein, who was convicted of sex crimes in 2008. He was arrested again in 2019 and died in custody later that year, apparently of suicide, while awaiting trial on allegations of trafficking underage girls and other charges. Carville said he didn't know what was in the files. 'I suspect that they'll come out. I don't know what they are, but the story is not going away,' he said. 'That's pretty clear. It's just not going anywhere.' Trump has been facing new questions over his ties to Epstein after the Justice Department said it would not release any new material related to the case despite Trump's promises to do so. When asked about the case, Trump has deflected and complained about Obama instead. See the full segment below:
Axios
26 minutes ago
- Axios
Padilla to propose bill easing immigrant residency rules
Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) is introducing a bill that would amend decades-old requirements for immigrants seeking permanent status — another long-shot proposal amid the Trump administration's immigration raids. The big picture: Congress has not passed a major immigration overhaul since 1986, resulting in residency requirements that are now over 50 years old. Zoom in: Under a bill that Padilla will announce Friday, the Immigration Act of 1929 would be amended so some immigrants may qualify for lawful permanent resident status if they have lived in the U.S. continuously for at least seven years. The current registry cutoff date is January 1, 1972 — more than 50 years ago. The change would provide a pathway to a green card for DACA recipients and those who had temporary protective status (TPS) State of play: The proposal comes as the Trump administration is letting TPS deals expire and going after what could be hundreds of thousands more immigrants who were given humanitarian "parole" under former President Biden. Many of those immigrants are being detained at immigration court hearings and are being placed in removal proceedings. What they're saying:"Roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants live in the United States today, yet most have no way to earn permanent legal status," Padilla's office said in a statement. "The overwhelming majority of these undocumented immigrants have established roots in the U.S. They work in essential jobs and pay taxes." His office said Padilla will formally introduce his bill on Monday. Reality check: Republicans control both chambers in Congress and such immigration proposals are hardly getting heard. Reps. María Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.) and Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) have introduced the DIGNITY Act of 2025, a bill that is lingering in the House, which focuses on border security, mandatory E-Verify, asylum reform and legal immigration reform. Zoom out: Padilla's latest bill comes after he and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) introduced a bill that would ban federal immigration agents from wearing most face coverings but require them to wear visible ID during public enforcement operations. That long-shot proposal comes following images of masked, heavily armed immigration agents snatching people off the streets and taking them away in unmarked cars have shocked many Americans. What we're watching: The pressure to rein in some of ICE's enforcement tactics does have support among some conservatives worried over policing.
USA Today
26 minutes ago
- USA Today
We're creating AI that could surveil US citizens. And the government is in on it.
Tech companies' lack of transparency and accountability in developing surveillance tools that governments can use is unacceptable. President Donald Trump recently gathered CEOs for a summit about renewing the United States 'spiritually and financially.' At the top of the agenda was a closer look at 'American values' such as faith and freedom. There is cause for alarm, however. Centuries after Americans declared independence from the British monarchy, our freedom and liberty are under threat − not only from foreign governments like China, but potentially our own. America's surveillance state is spreading as the federal government collects personal data of hundreds of millions of Americans. In the age of artificial intelligence, with data collection accelerating at an unprecedented rate, our privacy has never been more vulnerable. Who is the culprit? The data collectors range from the National Security Agency to Silicon Valley's cadre of data-hungry technology companies. Add to that list a new organization: Palantir. While it is not a household name like Google or Netflix, it is soon to be a common domestic concern. The technology company's surveillance operation has exploded in recent months, raising the possibility of creating a full-fledged surveillance state. Opinion: AI knows we shouldn't trust it for everything. I know because I asked it. Since January, Palantir has received more than $113 million in federal funds, according to The New York Times, not including a $795 million Defense Department contract awarded in May. While the federal government increased data sharing across agencies (with Palantir's help), the company continues to shop its technology to the Social Security Administration and the Internal Revenue Service. AI technology could be repurposed for sinister uses We are talking about technology that can be weaponized. While Palantir's current focus is to identify people in the United States illegally, tracking movements in real time, the company is also building the infrastructure that could be used for a massive surveillance state. Former Palantir employees have warned about the potential for the company's AI tools to surveil American citizens with a disregard for personal privacy. It is not so far-fetched. Palantir's AI software is used by the Israeli Defense Forces to strike targets in Gaza. It is used to assist the U.S. Defense Department in analyzing drone footage. And it has been used by the Los Angeles Police Department to forecast crime patterns. This is called 'predictive policing.' If "Minority Report"was not a horror movie before, it is now. Given the government's penchant for abusing power (see: COVID-19 censorship or the NSA spying scandal), does this not seem like an obvious move against our civil liberties? For years, the NSA engaged in the mass surveillance of Americans' telephone records, as was exposed in 2013. Between 2001 and 2007, government wiretapping − executed without warrants − affected millions of U.S. citizens. Now, the same agencies are tapping into the power of AI to expand government surveillance in once unimaginable ways. Opinion: AI is changing our world. At what point will it change our reality? Of course, the federal government can already access a wide range of our personal data, but it is often separated by agency. Washington, DC, can create exponentially more detailed profiles on all of us by sharing data with the help of Palantir's AI tools. Even when surveilling noncitizens, the government's data collection inevitably tracks individual Americans based on their own interactions with these noncitizens. The government's data collection is based on information from police departments, financial institutions and other entities, like Palantir. Big government and big tech partnership raises concerns Even if the alliance between the government and Palantir works as intended, it is a potential threat to our civil liberties. Political dissidents could become targets. Not even those with limited public personas are safe from the state's detailed profiling machine. These systems are not perfect, and neither are our leaders. What happens when AI systems fail? What happens when data collection goes haywire? Palantir is hardly alone. OpenAI recently launched OpenAI for Government, which aims to equip federal, state and local leaders with advanced AI tools. OpenAI claims to serve the 'public good' and 'bolster national security readiness,' but why would private citizens take that at face value? What does 'readiness' actually mean, in practice? At the moment, many of our elected officials do not have answers to these questions, or they are just ignoring them. The same goes for OpenAI and Palantir, which are all too comfortable amassing ever-larger federal contracts and greater market share. This lack of transparency or accountability is unacceptable. The only thing worse than the overreach of Big Government is Big Tech in bed with Big Government. For those who care about freedom and liberty, now is the time to speak up, before it is too late. Peyton Hornberger serves as communications director at The Alliance for Secure AI, a nonprofit organization that educates the public about the implications of advanced artificial intelligence.
