At worst, the display was a waste of federal funds. But it wasn’t North Korea — not even close.
When Donald Trump planned the first military parade since the conclusion of the Gulf War, for the 250th anniversary of the commissioning of the U.S. Army (aligning with his 79th birthday), the media hype and swarms of No Kings protesters gave me the impression we were about to see Our Leader’s birthday party. What Washington, D.C., actually experienced on Saturday was nothing of the kind.
I saw crowds of normal Americans, young families with kids, and retired Army vets in baseball caps. Protesters and MAGA hats alike were minimal among the crowds. The whole celebration was wholesome, patriotic, and just a little bit . . . boring.
A testament to 250 years of the U.S. Army, the display felt more like a history lesson than a Red Square–esque display of political power. Tanks rolled down the streets as those on board waved and smiled at the crowd as though they were in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, soldiers marched down Constitution Avenue dressed in the uniforms characteristic of two centuries of wars, and helicopters buzzed overhead.
Trump’s remarks at the end of the day appropriately honored the troops.
“Watching this magnificent display, our souls are filled with gratitude for every generation of warriors who have worn the uniform all the way back to the very beginning,” Trump said. “So to every veteran across our land and right here in our nation’s capital including six recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor, we love you, we honor you, and we salute your noble service to our flag and to our country.”
He went on to thank those who made the ultimate sacrifice, recount the stories of individual heroes from the Revolutionary War to Afghanistan, and praise the future victories of the American soldier before turning the stage over to Lee Greenwood.
Political weaponization of the military presents a valid concern in the current political climate. At the president’s visit to Fort Bragg last week, soldiers cheered the president’s partisan slogans and fierce condemnation of L.A. rioters. The spectacle raised eyebrows for good reason. Graham Parsons of The Atlantic argued on Saturday that the parade marked an ongoing effort to turn the U.S. military into the partisan and personal instrument of the president:
A mark of a free society is that its public institutions, especially its military, represent the body politic and the freedom-enabling equal rights that structure civic life. If service members and the public begin to believe that the military is not neutral but is in fact the servant of MAGA, this will threaten the military’s legitimacy and increase the likelihood of violent conflict between the military and the public. Today’s events bring us one step closer to this disaster.
The military should remain politically neutral. The Fort Bragg event tested that boundary, but what I saw on the ground Saturday just didn’t live up to the narrative. Maybe the parade actually was about honoring the Army as a mark of a free society rather than celebrating Trumpism.
At worst, the display was a waste of federal funds. But it wasn’t North Korea — not even close.