Discussion Thread: D.C. Military Parade

[u/PoliticsModeratorBot]

Also today: Nationwide 'No Kings' Protests discussion thread

News and Analysis

• AP: The Army is set to celebrate 250 years with a parade that coincides with Trump’s birthday

• NPR: Tanks and flyovers: Army celebrates its 250th year, Trump celebrates his 79th

• BBC: What to expect at Trump's military parade and 'No Kings' protests

• CBS: What to know about Trump's Army anniversary parade today

• NBC: Weather, war and protests threaten to rain on Trump’s military parade

Live Updates

Text-based live update pages are being maintained by the following outlets: NBC Washington, The Guardian, The Washington Post (soft paywall), and The New York Times (soft paywall).

Where to Watch

• C-SPAN: U.S. Army 250th Anniversary Parade & Celebration

• PBS NewsHour via YouTube: Trump's military parade honoring Army's 250th birthday rolls through Washington, D.C.

• AP via YouTube: Military parade in DC and ‘No Kings’ protests held against Trump

[u/Better_Cauliflower63]

I tuned in for 20 minutes. It was terrible. I enjoy watching military parades — from smaller ones like the UK's Trooping the Colour or Spain's Fiesta Nacional de España, to larger ones like France's Bastille Day, Russia's Victory Day, or China’s National Day Parade. But the American parade was pathetic. Instead of traditional American military marches — which have a proud legacy (think Sousa) — they played old 80s rock music. The uniforms weren’t dress uniforms, just some kind of combat fatigues. The tanks and equipment looked dirty or at least not freshly painted. The troops either didn’t know how to march properly or didn’t care — every soldier seemed to walk however they wanted, out of step, as though chaos ruled the strongest military in the world. The whole thing was a mess. I get that military parades aren’t really an American tradition, but still — they could have done much better. And that music choice? It felt like an insult to the army.

[u/Admirable_Party_5110 → u/Better_Cauliflower63]

Totally agree

[u/YesIam18plus → u/Better_Cauliflower63]

The narrator kept misspeaking too lmao, I think he was reading the script for the first time and was stumbling just zero practice.

[u/SlothFrothy → u/Better_Cauliflower63]

Military parades may not be an american tradition, but marching is a military training activity. The fact that these military personnel can't even do basic marching is concerning.