Trump's military parade: What to know ahead of Saturday's event
President Donald Trump on Saturday is set to host a major military parade in Washington celebrating the Army's 250th anniversary.
The event is expected to cost tens of millions of dollars, according to defense officials, and will feature thousands of soldiers, hundreds of vehicles and dozens of military aircraft.
The president, who will be celebrating his 79th birthday on Saturday, is scheduled to deliver remarks during the parade, which will take place in the evening in the nation's capital.
Here's everything you need to know about Saturday's event.
When is it happening?
The parade is expected to kick off at 6:30 p.m. ET Saturday and is expected to last for over an hour, broken into celebrations of the Army's eras: the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World War I, WWII, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, the Global War on Terror, the modern Army and the future.
The parade will take place along the National Mall, along Constitution Avenue NW, between 15th and 23rd streets.
While the parade is the main event of Saturday's celebration, the Army is hosting a variety of other events that day in the nation's capital, including a birthday festival on the National Mall in the morning.
The festival opens at 11 a.m. ET and is free to the public. It will feature live music, meet-and-greets with former NFL players, rock walls and military demonstrations. The Army is billing it as a 'family friendly' event.
The festival will include an Army fitness competition in the morning featuring 14 teams competing for victory.
Trump will also deliver remarks later in the evening. His speech will touch on the Army's 'significant achievements' and 'enduring legacy.'
After the parade wraps up, the Army says, the event will conclude with a concert and fireworks.
Who's organizing it?
The parade is being organized by America250, a bipartisan initiative created by Congress after the passage of the United States Semiquincentennial Commission Act of 2016.
The members of America250's commission include Cabinet secretaries and lawmakers, including Attorney General Pam Bondi, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Education Secretary Linda McMahon and Sens. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.; Lisa Murkowksi, R-Alaska; Alex Padilla, D-Calif.; and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H.
Trump signed an executive order in January that added several administration officials to the group working with America250. The executive order also made Trump chair of White House task force and Vice President JD Vance the vice chair.
What's in the parade?
Around 6,600 soldiers will march in the parade, plus 50 military aircraft and 150 vehicles, according to defense officials. Nearly three dozen horses and two mules are also expected to march in a section of the parade dedicated to the Army's history. Soldiers will wear costumes and carry weaponry representative of each period.
The parade will also include an extensive air show and flyover, featuring helicopters, historic aircraft and a demonstration by the Army's Golden Knights parachute team.
Military equipment and vehicles arrived near the nation's capital beginning early this week. In Jessup, Maryland, where some equipment was unloaded Monday, Col. Kamil Sztalkoper, the director of public affairs for the U.S. Army's III Armored Corps, told reporters that the equipment was delivered by train, with 'fifty-one rail cars overall.'
How can people watch it?
Members of the public are allowed to attend the event and will be able to watch the parade from the National Mall, including on screens that will be set up near the Washington Monument. The president and over 100 other notable guests will sit and watch the parade from a viewing box constructed on Constitution Avenue between 15th Street and 17th Street.
Major broadcast networks, including ABC, CBS and NBC, will cover the parade on their respective streaming channels. NBC News Now will begin coverage of the parade Saturday evening.
How much will it cost?
The parade is expected to cost the military as much as $45 million, with up to $16 million of that cost accounting for the price of repairing Washington streets damaged by tanks.
In an interview with NBC News' 'Meet the Press' in May, Trump defended the cost of the parade, saying that the millions of dollars were 'peanuts compared to the value of doing it.'
'We have the greatest missiles in the world. We have the greatest submarines in the world. We have the greatest army tanks in the world. We have the greatest weapons in the world. And we're going to celebrate it,' he added.
In the same interview, Trump disputed that the parade was a birthday celebration for his 79th.
'My birthday happens to be on Flag Day,' he said. 'I view it for Flag Day, not necessarily my birthday. Somebody put it together. But no, I think we're going to do something on June 14, maybe, or somewhere around there. But I think June 14. It's a very important day.'
Are protests expected?
In Washington and in all 50 states, pro-democracy, labor and liberal activists are planning protests that will coincide with the military parade.
Several progressive groups are joining forces to host a series of 'No Kings' protests around the country, with over 1,500 rallies expected Saturday. But the organizers decided against a Washington, protest, instead holding the flagship event in Philadelphia.
The Women's March group is hosting 'Kick Out the Clowns' rallies in several cities.
In Washington, several groups will host events throughout the day, including the group Refuse Fascism, which will host a ' nonviolent march' before the parade, and the Free D.C. Project, which plans to host a ' D.C. Joy Day.' The latter group isn't billing the event as a counterprotest, but rather a community day that will serve as counterprogramming to Trump's parade.
The planned demonstrations come a week after protests broke out in Los Angeles against the administration's immigration raids. Clashes between protesters and law enforcement prompted Trump to deploy thousands of National Guard members, and later hundreds of Marines, in response.
Trump's decision to send the military to quell protesters, which California officials sued to block, sparked further outcry across the country.
On Tuesday, Trump warned protesters against disrupting the military celebration, saying they would be met with ' heavy force.'
'If there's any protester that wants to come out, they will be met with very big force,' Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. 'I haven't even heard about a protest, but you know, this is people that hate our country, but they will be met with very heavy force.'
Asked Wednesday if Trump would support peaceful protests in the area, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, 'Of course the president supports peaceful protests. What a stupid question.'
How will it affect those living in and traveling to Washington?
Washingtonians will have to navigate several days of road closures near the parade route, which will be along Constitution Avenue, on the north side of the National Mall, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. Dozens of streets will also have emergency no-parking measures in effect.
On Saturday, the Metro will still be running in the nation's capital, with just one entrance to one station — the northwest entry/exit for the Smithsonian Metro — expected to close, according to the Army.
Due to the expected flyovers during the parade, Reagan National Airport in northern Virginia, which serves travelers to the Washington area, will stop flights from taking off and landing, a move that could affect over 100 incoming and outgoing flights.
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