Trump’s Army Celebration Draws Protests On Saturday
President Trump threw a military parade in Washington, D.C. on Saturday to celebrate the U.S. Army’s 250th birthday. However, this parade did not concentrate much on what the US army’s mission was, but instead showed off how strong the US military is with the tanks and old warplanes in the parade.
While he was doing that, thousands of people across the country were protesting because they were displeased about how he was not having the soldiers actually being put to their rightful job and using the army for what looked like his own pleasures.
Around 2,000 protests, called “No Kings,” gathered in cities and towns all over the US, like Seattle and Florida. They were saying that President Trump was using his power unfairly. What really made the protestors upset was his order to send the National Guard and Marines into the streets of Los Angeles to help with immigration arrests. This made many people wonder if he was going too far with his rights as the leader of the military.
Senator Patty Murray spoke out strongly, saying it was wrong to use American soldiers to act like police for the American people. Moreover, she pointed out that the National Guard was sent to California without the governor‘s requesting for help, and Marines were sent after protestors, not actual foreign threats. She felt President Trump was even threatening to use force against peaceful protestors at the parade.
In Washington, D.C., President Trump watched the parade go by from his own special seat. Giant steel–clad vehicles from old wars and airplanes that were at least 80 years old flew by, making the ground rumble and shake. He said that he had always wanted a parade like this ever since he saw one in Paris a few years ago. When he talked, he mainly empathized on how strong or powerful the Army is. He also declared that, “Time and again, America’s enemies have learned that you threaten the American people, soldiers are coming for you. Your defeat will be certain, your demise will be final, and your downfall will be total and complete.”
This parade was significant because it was the first one in the capital since soldiers came home from the Gulf War in 1991. The parade cost around $45 million, which is not a small amount, just to partly fix the streets after the heavy 60-ton tanks rolled over them. President Trump believed that the parade was worth it‘s cost, saying that the cost in comparison to the honor was like peanuts, in other words, “just a small price to compared to the national pride and showing off America’s power.”
On the other hand, protestors said it made America look like it was stuck in the past, focusing on old glories instead of new problems. They also mentioned that some of the old tanks being shown off aren’t even used much anymore in real fighting today.
This event on Saturday started many debates on how the military should be deployed, used, and maintained in the future. No matter what goes on to happens, the protestors are prepared to make sure that they are heard.
