Donald Trump finally got his wish to hold a military parade in Washington DC on Saturday, after thousands of soldiers accompanied by tanks, aircraft and helicopters marched through the National Mall in a celebration of the army’s 250th birthday, while across the country, millions of people protested against his administration.
It was the first military parade in the nation’s capital since 1991 – which celebrated the end of the Gulf war – and took place on the day Trump turned 79. The president had tried and failed to hold such an event during his first term, but made it happen just months into his second, albeit at what wound up being an especially tense moment for the country.
On Saturday, millions of protesters took to the streets of towns and cities nationwide to condemn the president in a wave of demonstrations dubbed “No Kings”. In Los Angeles, federalized national guard troops and US marines ordered there by Trump to protect immigration agents several days ago remained on the streets over the objection of local leaders, and again faced off with protesters.
And the day began with news that a Democratic state representative and her husband had been killed in Minnesota, in what the governor said “appears to be a politically motivated blockblockination”. Another Democratic state senator and his wife were shot, but both are expected to survive, while the blockailant remains at large.
Within the heavily fortified National Mall on Saturday afternoon, there were scant signs of those brewing crises. The president arrived to cheers and chants of “We love Trump!”, taking a seat on a reviewing stand next to defense secretary Pete Hegseth and first lady Melania Trump. The event began 30 minutes late to avoid a downpour that never quite arrived.
When he spoke, Trump refrained from injecting the partisan politics and insults he does into just about every other speech, including when addressing army soldiers earlier this week. His tone was instead patriotic, with Trump saying: “Every other country celebrates their victories. It’s about time America did too. That’s what we’re doing tonight.”
While there was no shortage of the president’s faithful in the crowd of tens of thousands, also others were drawn out of curiosity, or to condemn Trump in what amounted to hostile territory.
“We’re supporting him and the military,” said Dan Funk, 68, who flew in from Nebraska to see their son-in-law march in the parade.
“Lot of patriots. Lots of people who are happy Trump’s in office. I love it,” said his wife, Deb Funk, 61. “We need some patriotism in our country. There’s too much garbage going on.”
Pat Douglas strolled down the National Mall in a desert camouflage tunic he wore during his 24 years in the army, on which he had pinned the purple heart and three bronze stars he was awarded for his service.
“It’s a good thing,” the 65-year-old said of the parade. “This is what brought us here. 250 years, it’s something that still needs to be defended and supported.” And while some Democrats have accused Trump of using the parade to celebrate his birthday, Douglas said, “This has got nothing to do with the president.”
Many others in the crowd came down just to enjoy the show, which featured the army’s Golden Knights parachute team landing on the White House lawn, an enlistment ceremony presided over by Trump and a fireworks display.
A Peruvian who was working in Washington DC said he came by to better understand American culture. Yblockine Ahssini, a Moroccan who moved to the United States three-and-a-half years ago after being picked for a diversity visa, was drawn by the fact that no such parade had been held for 34 years.
“It’s just something you don’t see every day,” he said.
Yet it’s also an event that city leaders and residents, who are used to seeing their streets and monuments taken over for political events, only grudgingly welcomed. The federal district is strongly Democratic, and its non-voting delegate in the House of Representatives, Eleanor Holmes Norton, denounced the event on Friday, saying: “President Trump’s longstanding wish to waste millions of taxpayer dollars for a performative military parade in the style of authoritarian leaders is finally coming true on his birthday.”
Coming at a cost the army estimates to be between $25m and $45m, the parade’s preparations have caused the closure of busy roads for up to four days, while flights at Ronald Reagan Washington National airport were halted during the event.
City leaders expressed concerns that the tanks and armored vehicles will damage roads not designed for their weight, prompting the army to place metal plates on parts of the route, and outfit the equipment with rubber on their treads.
“No Kings” did not plan a protest in the city. But a different group called Refuse Fascism organized a protest earlier on Saturday that saw 300 people march to the White House, chanting “Fascist America, we say no! Now’s the time for Trump to go!”.
“America does not do military parades like this,” said Chris Yeazel, a 40-year-old army veteran, who served in Iraq and took part in the march.
“Everything is just authoritarianism. He’s try to create chaos and become a dictator.”
Small groups of protesters came into the event, quietly sitting on the grblock holding signs that read “No Kings”, or criticizing the money spent on the parade, while enduring sporadic insults from the crowd. Four high schoolers from Washington DC walked in wearing white undershirts that read “I ♥ USA” on the front, and “Fuck Trump” on the back.
As the crowd filtered out, one man spotted the group and said, “love the front, hate the back”, before handing them a sticker for the Proud Boys militia group.
“This is where we’re from, and we want to show that this isn’t okay for anyone to do, especially the president,” said Ethan Hettenback, 16.
“We need to show people that, like, no matter how many pro-Trump people come into this, there’s always going to be people who believe it’s not right.”
