By Derry Lenehan and Emma Bradford/Cronkite News
WASHINGTON D.C. – With protesters nationwide accusing President Donald Trump of staging an authoritarian-style military parade, spectators gathered Saturday near the White House were thrilled by the display of tanks, aircraft, precision skydiving, and fireworks.
The commander-in-chief ordered Saturday’s controversial spectacle to mark the Army’s 250th anniversary – and, as it happened, his 79th birthday.
More than 6,000 soldiers, mostly unarmed, marched past the White House along with military bands and 150 vehicles, from horse-drawn wagons to Korean War-era jeeps to 74-ton M1 Abrams tanks.
Soldiers in tanks waved cheerily to the crowd as rock music from AC/DC and Guns N’ Roses blared over the sound system.
Flyovers by Apache and Chinook helicopters, as well as other aircraft, punctuated the parade, which showcased the Army’s evolution from the Revolutionary War through the Civil War, two world wars, Vietnam, and the Gulf Wars.
“I’m not concerned about the price tag,” said parade-goer Jamie Kinsel, from the Eastern Shore of Maryland, who, like other spectators, said she came to celebrate the 250th birthday of the Army, Flag Day, and Trump’s birthday. “Congress manages to spend a lot of money on things that I am concerned about – this is not one.”
The show of American military might came days after Trump took control of the California National Guard and ordered active duty Marines to Los Angeles to stifle protests against immigration raids – moves that further inflamed parade critics.
Such displays are extremely rare in the United States, where the last military parade was held in 1991 to celebrate the end of the first Gulf War.
The Pentagon estimated the cost at up to $45 million.
Millions of people attended anti-Trump rallies nationwide on Saturday, including more than 1,000 who participated in a mile-long march to the White House organized by the group RefuseFascism.org.
“It is ridiculous,” said Robert Martinez, 36, who made the short trip from Maryland to take part in that demonstration, which ended a few hours before the parade. Given the Trump administration’s cuts to the federal workforce and Republicans’ other cost-cutting, he said, “I don’t know why we’ve got money to plan a parade for the president’s birthday.”
Trump watched the parade with First Lady Melania Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth from a stage south of the White House. He saluted as soldiers, cavalry, and vehicles representing different periods of Army history passed by.
“Every other country celebrates their victories. It’s about time America did that, too,” the president told the cheering crowd as the parade ended.
Thanks to the valor of generations of soldiers, he said, “America stands proud and America stands free. We’re the hottest country in the world right now.”
One of the more memorable sights was when the Army’s Golden Knights parachute team descended from the sky at over 150 mph. They landed on the Ellipse and presented a flag to the president.
“I’m very happy to come to the nation’s capital to celebrate 250 years of the Army’s birthday, and also Flag Day and more importantly, the birthday of President Trump, so it’s exciting to see the parade,” said Kim Nguyen, who had traveled from California and wore a dress with the American flag on it.
The Second Continental Congress established the U.S. Army on June 14, 1775.
Attendance fell far short of the 200,000 projected ahead of time, with spectators packed tight for a view along a few blocks of Constitution Avenue but otherwise spread thin around the lawn below the Washington Monument.
White House communications director Steven Cheung claimed on X that “despite the threat of rain, over 250,000 patriots showed up to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army.”
It ended up drizzling only briefly, though heavy storms hit the area soon after the fireworks ended.
TikTok trolls and other activists took credit for reserving free tickets to ensure sparse attendance.
More than 18 miles of tall “anti-scale fencing” were erected across the capital in preparation for the event. Streets around the White House were blocked to traffic.
Some people who attended the parade emphasized they came despite Trump, not to show support for him.
“I wanted to come here and celebrate the Army’s birthday, something that I’m really proud of as an American, but also to protest the fact that Trump has co-opted this day,” Jordan Miles, associate admissions director at American University, said in front of the National Monument. “Our country’s supposed to be celebrating the Army, not some individual who never served.”
Trump had wanted to stage a parade of this sort for eight years, since attending a 2017 Bastille Day celebration in Paris that he deemed “magnificent” and vowed to outdo, in an American-style manner.
Around the country, more than 2,000 demonstrations took place, organized by the “No Kings” movement.
No Kings organizers stated that more than 5 million people participated in the events, including 100,000 in Philadelphia and 200,000 in New York. Protesters filled the streets of downtown Los Angeles to vent their dismay at his use of the military in that city
About 40 No Kings rallies were held in Arizona, according to organizers, including one outside the Scottsdale office of Rep. David Schweikert (R-Fountain Hills). The state’s Democratic attorney general, Kris Mayes, attended a rally in Prescott.
In Washington, a few flare-ups occurred during the parade.
Christopher Moffatt, a software programmer from Chicago, worked his way into the heart of the crowd holding a large hand-written sign that read “Trump is a Rapist.”
That did not sit well with Cindy Pye-Labod, a security worker from North Carolina who came, she said, to honor the many relatives and friends she has who have served in uniform – and to show support for Trump.
“You voted for a rapist. You voted for a rapist,” Moffatt taunted as she tried to block his sign.
“Trump is your daddy,” she responded, chanting “Trump 2028! Trump 2028!”
Such incidents were rare, though.
Near the end of the parade, the Army showcased cutting-edge tools, including drones and robotic dogs.
“It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” said Douglas Martin, who served in the Arizona National Guard for 31 years and now lives in a Chicago suburb.
“People were like, ‘Don’t go, it’s going to be unsafe,’ but the security was fantastic. We felt so safe here and everybody was wonderful,” said his wife, Mireya Martin.
Going into the event, Democrats were deeply critical.
“When I think of service, I think of Senior Chief Jimmy Hatch, who spent over 20 years in the United States Navy, was a member of SEAL Team Six, served in combat, and was injured – shot by the Taliban,” Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Arizona – a former Navy fighter pilot who flew combat missions during Operation Desert Storm – said in a video post on X.
“That’s the kind of person who deserves a parade,” Kelly said, “not a man who is firing veterans, gutting the VA, and trying to give tax cuts to rich people.”
Eleanor Holmes Norton, the district’s non-voting delegate in the U.S. House, blasted Trump for a costly and “performative military parade in the style of authoritarian leaders” as his administration has pushed out hundreds of thousands of federal workers. “Although this parade will feed President Trump’s ego and perhaps his base, it will not serve any legitimate purpose,” she said Friday.
Trump drew criticism from some fellow Republicans as well.
“I’ve never been a big fan of goose-stepping soldiers in big tanks and missiles rolling down the street,” Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, told reporters days before the parade. “We were always different than the images you saw of the Soviet Union and North Korea. We were proud not to be that.”
Before the fireworks, Vice President JD Vance – celebrating his wedding anniversary – wished the president a happy birthday and thanked soldiers for their service.
“We are so proud of you, and let me tell you, the way that we honor and respect you is No. 1. We never ask you to go to war unless you absolutely have to. And No. 2, when we do ask you to go to war, we give you the weapons and support needed to kick the hell out of the enemy and come back home safely,” he said.
