Trump presides over a lackluster military parade amid nationwide protests

WashingtonTanks and soldiers paraded through Washington on Donald Trump's anniversary while thousands of people took to the streets across the country to protest his policies under the slogan "No Kings Day." The president has obtained the parade he so desired, although it probably wasn't the one he imagined. The gaps in the crowd on the Mall lawn were noticeable and contrasted sharply with the massive images of the demonstrations in Dallas, Chicago, and New York. In a surprisingly brief speech, Trump defended the event as a way to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the military. But the closing performance was by singer Lee Greenwood who, as he had during the campaign rallies, sang the God Bless the USA [God bless America]. "For many years, President," she shouted from the stage.

Before passing through one of the many security checkpoints set up around the Mall, Dorothy Green, a Washington resident, defended the quote: "I came to honor our military and celebrate our president's birthday." Even so, Green insisted that the "media has been blowing it out of proportion" to the idea that Trump had given himself a military parade. Next to her sat Jessica Murdoch, a 72-year-old woman wearing a T-shirt that read "Pardon Our President" in different languages. "I came to protest: it's another authoritarian gesture from Trump," she defended herself, before being heckled by another woman who was passing by. "This isn't true, it's to celebrate the military. And if you don't like it, leave," she snapped.

"If you threaten the American people, our troops will be behind you," Trump said, standing with two tanks parked in front of the presidential platform, from where he watched the spectacle flanked by First Lady Melania Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. "Your defeat is assured; your demise is final... because our troops never surrender, never capitulate, and never, never quit. They fight, fight, fight—and they win, win, win." A reference to the "Fight, Fight, Fight" slogan he coined at the Republican convention in Milwaukee, where he declared himself the party's sole leader.

Unaccustomed to pomp

Trump had hoped for a march on Washington using the military as a metaphor for his power, but he had to settle for a parade that bore little resemblance to the Bastille Day celebrations he witnessed in Paris in 2017, which had so dazzled him. Instead, the president saw a lackluster display, with soldiers marching listlessly. Despite having one of the most powerful militaries in the world, US troops are unused to the pomp of military spectacles.

The red MAGA hats and T-shirts with Trump's face far outnumbered those of the military. One man walked through the crowd with a "Trump 2028" flag, while others wore T-shirts bearing the Republican's mugshot from when he was accused of interfering in the 2020 election. Despite turning another institutional event into a campaign rally, the Republican failed to recreate the "epic." Despite the chants of "USA," apathy hung in the air as the 6,600 soldiers and more than 200 tanks, vehicles from the Revolutionary War era to the present day, paraded by.

Despite the military paraphernalia and traffic disruptions caused by blocked streets, Washington enjoyed a day of calm and a relative sense of normalcy. The capital was the only exception among the anti-Trump protests, as organizers didn't want to give the president an excuse to militarize the city like he did in Los Angeles. While the soldiers' boots were leaving, some 2,000 "No Kings Day" events were being organized in all 50 states.

Hours before the tanks and soldiers made their appearance, A man shot and killed a Democratic congresswoman and wounded another in Minnesota.The episode of political violence capped a week of growing tension over protests in the California city against immigration raids. After recent days of de-escalation on the streets of Los Angeles, police charges and clashes with protesters were again seen this Saturday.