On the heels of this week’s updated price tag of $92 million – which is a staggering $80 million more than initial estimates – for Trump’s wholly unnecessary and unwanted military parade, the Pentagon announced yesterday that it would postpone the event until at least 2019.
Of course, Trump would never admit that his ego-boosting parade was financially ruinous, so he had to pin the blame elsewhere.
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
In characteristic fashion, Trump lambasted D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser for rightly identifying the absurdly high cost of this unnecessary “celebration.” But she didn’t let him have the last word.
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). https://t.co/vqC3d8FLqx
— Muriel Bowser (@MurielBowser) August 17, 2018
The event was originally scheduled for Veterans Day this year with an estimated price tag of $12 billion. Even at that inaccurate assessment, at a time when Americans’ health insurance coverage is declining, wages are stagnant, and income inequality is skyrocketing, the idea of a military parade was not only wasteful but offensive.
It’s clear that the ballooning price tag and accompanying public outcry was to blame – or thank – for the abrupt cancellation. Americans on both sides of the aisle were decidedly vocal in their denunciation of the event, calling it “boastful,” “unnecessary,” and “un-American.”
Trump initially got the idea after attending France’s Bastille Day celebration. France, however, has held the event since 1880. Other countries of note with military parades include North Korea, China and Russia—not exactly the world’s most shining beacons of democracy.
While Trump’s insatiable ego and boundless narcissism may be a sight to behold, his military parade – for now – won’t be.
