Trump is finally getting his chance to try to top France with a grand military parade in DC

WASHINGTON (AP) — Eight years after President Donald Trump was dazzled by a grand military parade down the Champs-Élysées in Paris, he is finally getting a chance to try to top the spectacle.

His long-delayed dream is expected to be realized Saturday with an extravaganza of American military might featuring tanks and other armored vehicles rolling through the nation’s capital, thousands of soldiers marching the streets and military aircraft flying overhead. In a final flourish, an elite parachute team is to jump from above the White House, land near Trump and hand him an American flag.

“I think it’s going to be great,” Trump said this week. “We’re going to celebrate our country for a change.”

For Trump, a media-attuned real estate developer who was a reality television star and beauty pageant owner, it’s a chance to flex his skills as a showman. But the muscular display of military might also comes as Trump is increasingly flexing the powers of his office, including with the deployment of thousands of National Guard troops to respond to protests in Los Angeles over his immigration crackdown.

The Republican president’s desire for a grand military parade was scuttled in his first term over concerns about the high cost for the event. This time around, he is barreling past objections just like the tanks that will roll down Constitution Avenue.

Trump has dismissed concerns about the cost, about what message the display of military power sends and about the fact that it will take place on his 79th birthday.

One potential obstacle the president can’t control is the weather. There’s a chance the parade could be interrupted by thunderstorms. The White House has said it will go on rain or shine, but it could be delayed by lightning.

Trump said Thursday night that he hopes the weather is OK but if it’s not, “That’s OK too.”

“Doesn’t matter,” he said at the White House. “Doesn’t affect the tanks at all. Doesn’t affect the soldiers. They’re used to it.”

Parade plans emerge after joining Army bash, donors defraying costs

The parade was initially conceived as a July 4 event, but Trump found occasion this year to add it onto a long-planned celebration of the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army that coincides with Flag Day and Trump’s birthday.

“This parade will honor all of the military men and women who have bravely served our country, including those who made the ultimate sacrifice to defend our freedom,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement. “No event can fully capture our gratitude for those who have worn the uniform, but this grand parade will ensure our veterans and active-duty service members are recognized with the respect and magnificence they deserve.”

The White House has not offered details about when and how the administration first began pushing this year to turn Trump’s parade vision into reality, but the president has been briefed regularly on its progress and made suggestions about details of the plans, according to press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

Private donations from companies like Lockheed Martin, Amazon and UFC are helping defray some of the costs, but the government still is expected to spend $25 million to $45 million.

Some members of Congress have questioned the high cost at a time when the administration has been pushing for deep spending cuts throughout the government.

Defense officials and the White House have justified the cost as a worthy expense to pay tribute to service members and inspire patriotism, and Trump has called it “a great expenditure.”

‘We’re going to have to try and top it’

Outside of wartime, there isn’t much of a tradition of military parades in the U.S., with some critics likening the planned pageantry to the jingoistic displays seen in North Korea.

But Trump’s inspiration was the 2017 Bastille Day procession he attended in France, which he declared at the time to be “magnificent” and “one of the greatest parades I have ever seen.”

“We’re going to have to try and top it,” he said then.

With the parade now set to occur on his 79th birthday, Trump said he is “taking a little heat” over the overlapping occasions. But he said the festivities are meant to celebrate the Army and Flag Day, not his birthday.

His imprint Saturday will be clear, though.

Trump requested aircraft and military equipment that capture the might of the military, according to the White House. He is expected to view the synchronized flyovers, along with the processions of tanks, historical reenactments and marching soldiers, from a special reviewing stand.

Toward the end of the day’s events, he is set to deliver remarks during a nationally televised ceremony capped by fireworks.

One of Trump’s favorite musical acts, “ God Bless the USA” singer Lee Greenwood, is on tap to perform. Greenwood’s song is one of the president’s preferred walk-on tunes at events. The singer has performed in person at campaign rallies, and Trump even partnered with Greenwood on a business deal to sell “God Bless the USA” Bibles for $59.99.

Protests expected to counter the military show

Though the president has blown past the logistical and financial barriers that stopped his parade in the past, the pageantry still is expected to draw pushback.

With predictions of as many as 200,000 attendees, the Secret Service is preparing for protests by erecting 18 miles of anti-scale fencing and deploying drones to the city’s skies to keep watch.

Multiple protests to counter the event were being planned, including a march to the White House. Immigration-related clashes between protesters and law enforcement in Los Angeles have spread to other cities this week and heightened the possibility of tensions in the Washington area.

The president this week said that if protesters show up at the parade, “they will be met with very big force.”

It was not clear what he meant by that remark, but it added to the alarm of critics who claim the policies of Trump’s administration and the planned lavish display of militarism smack of authoritarian politics.

Organizers of “No Kings” protests are planning demonstrations around the country Saturday to counter an event they contend is meant to feed Trump’s ego.

“The flag doesn’t belong to President Trump. It belongs to us,” the “No Kings” website says.

But they’re not planning to hold an event in Washington.

Instead, their flagship event will be in Philadelphia, and organizers said they hope to draw attention away from what they paint as a strongman spectacle designed for Trump’s birthday, like a king.

Trump laughed off the idea Thursday.

“I don’t feel like a king,” he said. “I have to go through hell to get stuff approved.”

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Associated Press writers Darlene Superville and Chris Megerian contributed to this report.