Latest news with #TrumpBirthday
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump's Birthday Military Parade Will Do $16M in Damages to D.C. Streets
Pothole repair is about to be big business in Washington, D.C. as President Donald Trump's 79th birthday celebrations get underway. 9,000 soldiers, 130 tanks, artillery launchers, and other vehicles, plus 50 aircraft—from WWII-era B-52 bombers to special operations-style Black Hawks—will parade through the nation's capital as a tribute to the country's military. It just so happens that the date of the parade, Saturday, June 14, is both the 250-year anniversary of the U.S. Army and Trump's birthday—a coincidence POTUS seemed to attribute to divine intervention during his Memorial Day speech. Trump was desperate to throw a military parade during his first term, and even told French President Emmanuel Macron in 2017 that his own display would outshine the Bastille Day celebrations. Budget caution, road repairs, and the dictatorial optics put a halt to that idea then, but this time around, no one is saying no to the president. That is even as new estimates reveal that the total cost for the event is ballooning. Army estimates suggest the flexing of might will likely tally between $25 and $45 million. The true costs, however, could be far higher, given the 2017 plan was estimated at $92 million, according to the Associated Press, although that figure was disputed by then-Defense Secretary Jim Mattis at the time. As much as $16 million has been earmarked for filling in the damage left by tanks rumbling down civilian streets, according to U.S. military officials. Steel plates at least an inch thick will be laid across sections of the route where M1A1 Abrams tanks, each weighing around 140,000 pounds, and other treaded vehicles will make turns. Similar protection will not be laid out along straight sections of the roadway. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has previously voiced her concerns about damage to city streets. 'Military tanks on our streets would not be good,' she said at an April 7 news conference. 'If military tanks were used, they should be accompanied by many millions of dollars to repair the roads.' She later said that the city would likely be on the hook for the repairs and would have to petition the Pentagon for reimbursement. 'These are, for the most part, local streets, and if they're rendered in unusable, we have to make them usable,' she told reporters on May 29. 'Probably we would fix it and then go seek our money from the Fed,' she said. 'That gives me some concern about fronting costs and waiting for them to get back.' The Army, for its part, does not seem concerned. Col. Jesse Curry, director of the Office of the Chief of Engineers, has said 'We're not expecting any damage to the route,' while Army spokesperson Steve Warren said they will pay for any damages.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump's birthday military parade could cause $16 million of damage to DC's streets
Donald Trump's birthday military parade could cause as much as $16 million worth of damage to the streets of Washington, D.C., officials estimate. The June 14 parade, which will celebrate the Army's 250th anniversary, is being held on the president's own 79th birthday and will cost around $45 million. That price tag includes the estimated damage. Trump himself has called the cost of the parade 'peanuts compared to the value of doing it.' Organizers say that the parade will consist of around 130 vehicles, including 28 M1A1 tanks, 28 Bradley Fighting Vehicles, 28 Stryker armored fighting vehicles and artillery launchers being towed. A flyover of the U.S. capital will be undertaken by more than 50 helicopters, while 7,000 soldiers will march in the streets. There will also be at least eight bands, three dozen horses and two mules. The Army has said that it will cover all repair costs to the District's streets, which it estimates will be $16 million, according to NBC News. It has already said that it would place thick metal plates as long as 20ft down where tanks will turn on the parade route, at a cost of $3 million. Earlier this week, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said she was 'concerned' about the scope of damage that the tanks and armored vehicles could cause. "These are, for the most part, local streets, and if they're rendered in unusable, we have to make them usable,' she said. "Probably we would fix it and then go seek our money from the Fed," she said. "That gives me some concern about fronting costs and waiting for them to get back." Trump told NBC News' Meet the Press earlier this month that the 90-minute parade would be well worth its eye-watering cost. '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,' Trump insisted.
The Independent
3 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Trump's birthday military parade could cause $16 million of damage to DC's streets
Donald Trump's birthday military parade could cause as much as $16 million worth of damage to the streets of Washington, D.C., officials estimate. The June 14 parade, which will celebrate the Army's 250th anniversary, is being held on the president's own 79th birthday and will cost around $45 million. That price tag includes the estimated damage. Trump himself has called the cost of the parade 'peanuts compared to the value of doing it.' Organizers say that the parade will consist of around 130 vehicles, including 28 M1A1 tanks, 28 Bradley Fighting Vehicles, 28 Stryker armored fighting vehicles and artillery launchers being towed. A flyover of the U.S. capital will be undertaken by more than 50 helicopters, while 7,000 soldiers will march in the streets. There will also be at least eight bands, three dozen horses and two mules. The Army has said that it will cover all repair costs to the District's streets, which it estimates will be $16 million, according to NBC News. It has already said that it would place thick metal plates as long as 20ft down where tanks will turn on the parade route, at a cost of $3 million. Earlier this week, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said she was 'concerned' about the scope of damage that the tanks and armored vehicles could cause. "These are, for the most part, local streets, and if they're rendered in unusable, we have to make them usable,' she said. "Probably we would fix it and then go seek our money from the Fed," she said. "That gives me some concern about fronting costs and waiting for them to get back." Trump told NBC News' Meet the Press earlier this month that the 90-minute parade would be well worth its eye-watering cost. '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,' Trump insisted.
Reuters
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
US Army has no plans to celebrate Trump's birthday on 250th anniversary
WASHINGTON, May 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. Army said on Wednesday it has no plans to recognize President Donald Trump's birthday on June 14 when he presides over part of the Army's celebrations of its 250th anniversary. Trump, who is turning 79 on the same day, will play a big role in the celebrations, which will see Army soldiers parachuting in to present him with a folded flag. The Army will also hold a parade down Washington's Constitution Avenue, one of the main thoroughfares that cuts through the capital. The parade was not part of the original planning for the June 14 celebrations and was added this year, stoking criticism from Democratic lawmakers and others that Trump has hijacked the event. Asked if there were any plans by the Army to recognize the president's birthday, Steve Warren, an Army spokesperson, said: "I don't think we have a plan for that. "This has been the Army's birthday. ... We've had 249 previous of these," Warren told reporters at the Pentagon. "We're excited that the commander-in-chief is interested in the Army's 250th anniversary and that he will want to view it." The celebrations will cost the Army between $25 million and $45 million and will see M1A1 Abrams tanks and other heavy vehicles participating in a parade meant to honor the Army's history. Army officials said they were taking steps to protect the streets of Washington, D.C., from any potential damage caused by the tanks, including putting metal plates in some areas. No damage is anticipated, but the Army will pay for any unexpected repairs if needed.
Reuters
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
What we know about the Army anniversary parade on Trump's birthday
May 20 (Reuters) - A long-planned celebration in Washington for the U.S. Army's 250th anniversary will coincide with President Donald Trump's 79th birthday on June 14. Trump will play a major role in the celebrations, which have been altered to include a parade. Here is everything we know so far: The celebrations will take place in and around Washington, D.C., starting during the first week of June, according to a planning document seen by Reuters. On June 14 there will be a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in the morning, followed by a fitness competition and an Army birthday festival on the National Mall in Washington. The festival will include equipment displays and military demonstrations. The day will culminate with a parade through the city and an enlistment and re-enlistment ceremony presided over by Trump and fireworks. The U.S. Army is bringing 6,500 troops into Washington, along with 150 vehicles and 50 aircraft for the celebration. The vehicles are set to be moved to the city on trains, while the helicopters will fly in. Reuters has reported that as many as 25 M1 Abrams tanks will feature in the parade. The twin celebrations will cost the U.S. Army between $25 million and $45 million, U.S. officials have told Reuters. That includes the parade itself as well as the cost of moving equipment and housing and feeding the troops. The cost was several million dollars more than it would have been without a parade, the officials said. The officials' latest estimates exclude costs the city of Washington would have to bear, like trash cleanup or any road repairs for damage from the heavy tanks. Democratic lawmakers have said that Trump is taking over the Army's birthday for himself. "This is Trump. This is all about his ego and making everything 'him', which is, I think, a discredit to the military, the Army," Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said. Representative Steve Cohen, a Democrat from Tennessee, introduced a bill to prohibit the use of public funds for "displays of military force for personal glorification." Officials have told Reuters that the planning for the Army's 250th birthday celebration started last year - before Trump won the November presidential election. The White House has said the administration was planning a historic celebration for the Army's 250th birthday. The Army was established on June 14, 1775, more than a year before the Declaration of Independence. "As one of the first events of the year-long celebration of our 250th anniversary, this commemorative parade will be a fitting tribute to the service, sacrifice and selflessness of the brave men and women who have worn the uniform," White House Domestic Policy Council Director Vince Haley said. Trump has made no secret of his desire to hold military parades in the past. During his first administration, he ordered the Pentagon to look into a display of military might after a 2017 trip to France where he and French President Emmanuel Macron reviewed that country's defense forces marching down the Avenue des Champs-Elysees in Paris. Trump ultimately settled for a display of tanks and other armored vehicles during a July Fourth celebration in 2019 in Washington. Critics have called a parade an authoritarian display of power that is wasteful, especially as Trump slashes costs throughout the federal government. Military parades in the United States are generally rare. Such parades in other countries are usually staged to celebrate victories in battle or showcase military might. In 1991, tanks and thousands of troops paraded through Washington to celebrate the ousting of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's army from Kuwait in the Gulf War.
