Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images
Donald Trump is finally getting his military parade — and on his birthday no less. For years, the president has openly longed to see tanks roll through the streets of Washington, D.C., to display the nation’s “military might.” But in his first term, Trump wound up canceling a planned military parade amid concerns about the astronomical cost and authoritarian vibes.
Now the White House is making Trump’s dream a reality by co-opting plans for a celebration of the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary on June 14, which just happens to be the president’s 79th birthday. Here’s a guide, which we’ll keep updated, to everything we know about the military parade and related festivities.
Why does Trump want to have a military parade?
Trump has always been “delighted by grand displays of military strength,” as the Washington Post put it, and he was reportedly disappointed that his first inaugural parade didn’t feature heavy military equipment and troops. The president jumped at the chance to attend Paris’s Bastille Day military parade in 2017, and the Post noted his boyish glee:
He eagerly leaned forward as he took in the spectacle, frequently jostling his wife or French President Emmanuel Macron when he saw something that particularly delighted him. Whenever troops were before him, Trump jumped to his feet and applauded with an enthusiasm that exceeded the response of those around him. For the first time in months, he looked relaxed and to be thoroughly enjoying himself.
Trump was still marveling about France’s display of “military might” months later when French president Emmanuel Macron visited the White House. “To a large extent, because of what I witnessed, we may do something like that on July 4 in Washington down Pennsylvania Avenue,” Trump said. “We’re going to have to try and top it.”
Pres. Trump said he’s considering having a parade down Pennsylvania Avenue to show off “military strength” similar to France’s Bastille Day. pic.twitter.com/A2g9R3jkyu
— CBS News (@CBSNews) September 18, 2017
Why didn’t Trump have a military parade in his first term?
He tried to, but his efforts were foiled. In January 2018, Trump directed top military officials to plan a grand military parade, possibly on the Fourth of July. Within three months, this had been scaled back to adding wheeled military vehicles to D.C.’s existing Veteran’s Day parade — but no tanks, as they could damage the streets. In August 2018, the Pentagon postponed the event indefinitely hours after CNBC reported that it was estimated to cost $92 million.
A short time later, Trump claimed he decided to cancel the event and accused local officials of price-gouging on Twitter:
The local politicians who run Washington, D.C. (poorly) know a windfall when they see it. When asked to give us a price for holding a great celebratory military parade, they wanted a number so ridiculously high that I cancelled it. Never let someone hold you up! I will instead…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 17, 2018
….attend the big parade already scheduled at Andrews Air Force Base on a different date, & go to the Paris parade, celebrating the end of the War, on November 11th. Maybe we will do something next year in D.C. when the cost comes WAY DOWN. Now we can buy some more jet fighters!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 17, 2018
Why is the military parade finally happening?
The U.S. Army has been planning its 250th-anniversary celebration for more than a year, but initially plans did not include a massive parade. It’s unclear when that element was added. In early April, Washington City Paper broke the news that the White House officials had reached out to local officials with a “heads-up” about a parade on June 14:
Arlington County Board Chair Takis Karantonis, who describes Arlington as a “9/11 city” that is proud of being home to the Pentagon, tells City Paper that no formal request for assistance has been made to the county. Karantonis says the county was given a “heads up” about the parade on Friday by the White House, but with no firm details.
The White House initially denied this, though D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser said administration officials had contacted the city’s special-events task force.
On May 2, after more details leaked, the White House and the Army confirmed that a parade would take place on June 14 to kick off a yearlong celebration of the Army’s 250th anniversary.
“We love our military and take great pride in honoring our warfighters,” Defense secretary Pete Hegseth told Fox News Digital. “In celebration of 250 years of the U.S. Army, we will throw the biggest and most beautiful military parade in our nation’s history.”
What does this parade have to do with Trump’s birthday?
Ostensibly, the timing is just a coincidence.
“My birthday happens to be on Flag Day,” Trump told NBC News in an interview that aired May 4. “I view it for Flag Day, not necessarily my birthday. Somebody put it together. But no, I think we’re going to do something on June 14 maybe or somewhere around there. But I think June 14. It’s a very important day.”
What will the June 14 military parade look like?
Army planning documents dated April 29 and 30, which were obtained by the Associated Press, call for a parade from Arlington, Virginia, to the National Mall, which would include about 6,600 soldiers, 150 vehicles, and 50 helicopters. The heavier vehicles would join in mid-procession to avoid going over the bridge from Virginia:
[The documents] said the parade will include soldiers from at least 11 corps and divisions nationwide. They said it would involve a Stryker battalion with two companies of Stryker vehicles, a tank battalion and two companies of tanks, an infantry battalion with Bradley vehicles, Paladin artillery vehicles, Howitzers and infantry vehicles.
The plans note that while the parade will begin near the Pentagon, the heavy, tracked vehicles — which would include the Strykers — would be stationed near the Lincoln Memorial and join the procession there, so they will not go over the bridge from Virginia
Fox News said historic military reenactors would also be involved:
The parade will have reenactors, equipment and more from the Revolutionary War, Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Gulf War/Desert Storm and the Global War on Terror (Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria). It will also feature active-duty service members and students at U.S. military academies.
The military procession will begin at 6 p.m. at the Pentagon’s north parking lot, according to Axios.
What other activities are planned for June 14?
The June 14 festival is expected to include displays of military equipment, demonstrations, a fitness competition on the National Mall, a parachute jump by the Golden Knights, a concert, and a fireworks display. Axios shared some additional details from a National Park Service permit application on May 9:
The Washington Monument grounds will welcome crowds and have facilities for food, water, and restrooms. The Ellipse will have a presidential review stand, bleachers, and a concert stage, the NPS application says.
Set to begin at 8pm, the “concert will consist of 5-7 musical acts” with “well-known performers” who are “likely from the country music world,” per the application.
A fireworks display would occur at 9:45pm.
What will Trump’s military parade cost?
The final cost estimate is unknown, but the AP reported, “Officials say [it] will cost tens of millions of dollars.”
Trump dismissed concerns about the cost in his May 4 NBC news interview, saying the price will be “peanuts compared to the value of doing it.”
He added, “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.”
Trump: We will have a big, beautiful parade.
Welker: A military parade?
Trump: Yes.
Welker: What’s the price tag?
Trump: Peanuts compared to the value of doing it pic.twitter.com/CH8hLBTy1Q
— Acyn (@Acyn) May 4, 2025
Are D.C. officials excited about the 2025 parade?
Nope! In Trump’s first term, D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser took credit for the cancellation of the proposed military parade. Though her tone has changed, she still doesn’t seem thrilled about the 2025 event, as the Washington Post reported:
Bowser had mocked him afterward in a viral tweet, writing, “Yup, I’m Muriel Bowser, mayor of Washington DC, the local politician who finally got thru to the reality star in the White House with the realities ($21.6M) of parades/events/demonstrations in Trump America (sad).”
This second Trump term, Bowser has been taking a much different stance toward the president, seeking common ground. Still, she said Monday that her concerns about military tanks on city roads still apply.
“Military tanks on our streets would not be good,” she said. “If military tanks were used, they should be accompanied with many millions of dollars to repair the roads.”
Back in April, Takis Karantonis, the chair of Virginia’s Arlington County Board, suggested that spending millions on a military parade amid DOGE’s aggressive federal cuts wasn’t a great idea.
“At this time, it is not clear to me what the scope of the parade would be,” Karantonis said. “But I would hope the federal government remains sensitive to the pain and concerns of numerous active military and veteran residents, who have lost or might lose their jobs in recent federal decisions, as they reflect on how best to celebrate the Army’s anniversary.”
