One of the more insignificant myths of the Donald Trump presidency is the one that claims he was inspired to order a magnificent military parade in Washington after viewing the Bastille Day celebration in France in 2017. It’s true that Trump was excited by that parade was very excited by it and started making plans for a D.C. version on his way to the airport in Paris. But Trump had wanted the big tanks and marching soldiers and flyovers well before that.
According to the Huffington Post, he had requested a full-dress military parade for his inauguration and was told it couldn’t be done because of the infrastructure in D.C. He explained to the Washington Post around the same time that he had big plans for the future:
“Being a great president has to do with a lot of things, but one of them is being a great cheerleader for the country. And we’re going to show the people as we build up our military, we’re going to display our military. That military may come marching down Pennsylvania Avenue. That military may be flying over New York City and Washington, D.C., for parades. I mean, we’re going to be showing our military.”
View the complete July 5 article by Heather Digby Parton from Salon on the AlterNet website here.
The combined hourly rate was at least $560,000 per hour.