The military parade proposed by President Trump that was scheduled for this coming November has been postponed until sometime next year, according to the Pentagon. While Trump had planned on the parade being held for this year’s Veteran’s Day, November 10th, the plans have seemingly been changed. No reason for the delay has been offered.
Trump introduced the idea when meeting with French President Emmanuel Marcon, having been influenced by his visit to the French Bastille Day parade last year. Originally, Trump proposed for this parade to take place on this past 4th of July, for Independence Day.
Trump felt that the show of military strength was good for the morale of the French people, and wanted to bring that back to the US. However, the idea had been criticized for the huge projected budget, some experts judging a cost of over $100 million dollars. In contrast, earlier this year the White House had stated that the parade would cost between $10 and $30 million dollars.
Other critics have assessed Trump’s motivation behind the parade, and deemed his motivation to be simply a show of strength and superiority, similar to the parades thrown by military dictatorships in places like North Korea.
Many have come to the conclusion that the Pentagon simply does not have the budget to throw this kind of parade this year, and this would contribute towards the no-explanation behind the postponing. Washington DC is still divided over the idea, and the parade has several supporters and detractors in the government.
This would be the first major military parade since 1991, after the first Gulf War.
