On June 14, Trump held a parade in Washington, D.C. for the 250th anniversary of the Army and his birthday. It showcased America’s military power with tanks, bombers, and helicopters, and people throughout the country attended the parade. People, however, also attended protests throughout the country.

This has drawn a lot of criticism from people as Trump could’ve spent 45 million dollars on national security, but he chose to spend it on a parade. Trump has defended this expense, including repairing the streets from the expected damage of rolling massive tanks that weigh over 50 tons on them.

Trump told an NBC interviewer that the price tag was “peanuts compared to the value of doing it.”

Trump then continued to say, “We have the greatest missiles in the world. We have the greatest submarines in the world. We have the greatest Army tanks in the world. We have the greatest weapons in the world. And we’re going to celebrate it.”

However, there are many mixed opinions on this parade. Supporters praised the parade as a show of strength, but critics saw it as militaristic and undemocratic, as a warning of increasing executive overreach. Some people saw it as unconstitutional and dangerous, while others saw it as fun and a good way to flaunt the country’s power.

The protests, however, were purposefully kept outside Washington to avoid focusing more attention on the parade. There were around 2000 protests under the slogan “No Kings,” meant to object to Trump’s authority and what some see as abuse of power.

The protests were meant to contrast the military parade, as said by Leah Greenberg, co-founder of a group organizing the protest in Philadelphia, “We want to create contrast, not conflict.”

Overall, the parade and protests reflected deep national divides over immigration, civil liberties, the role of the military, and Trump’s efforts to reshape American laws.