Washington: US President Donald Trump has said that he is hopeful that a grand military parade can be staged in Washington on Americas Independence Day in July or on Veterans Day in November.
Earlier this month, Trump ordered the Pentagon to plan a grand parade to show "appreciation" for the armed forces, an unusual move aimed at showcasing the might of the world's most powerful military.
Trump last night said he is hopeful that a military parade with a lot of plane flyovers can be staged in Washington on Veterans Day but acknowledged that the expense could be a concern.
"We are talking about probably Veterans Day, it's preliminarily, you know, being discussed. But we're talking about probably Veterans Day. I like July 4 because July 4 in Washington DC would be beautiful," Trump was quoted as saying by the Fox News.
Trump got the idea of a military parade when he attended the Bastille Day Parade in France last year. The proposed parade, he said, would be up and down Pennsylvania Avenue.
"A lot of it would be fly-overs. I was at the Bastille Day Parade in France with the president of France, very good guy. It would just be a great representative parade. It would have a lot of plane fly-overs, I think it would be great for the spirit of the country," he said.
"We have a great country and we should be celebrating our country. So, we'll see if we can do it at a reasonable cost. And if we can't, we won't do it. But the generals would love to do it, I can tell you, and so would I. I think it's great for our country in terms of being a cheerleader and the spirit," Trump said.
The parade Trump envisions would cost between USD 10 million and USD 30 million, White House budget director Mick Mulvaney was quoted as saying by The Washington Post earlier this month.
Trump's interest in having a large-scale military parade now is likely to receive a mixed reception, especially among those who are concerned about nationalism, militarism or the president's past praise for authoritarian leaders.
The tradition stretches back centuries, but has been typically been tied to the conclusion of wars, the daily said. The last such parade was held in Washington DC in June 1991 at the end of the Gulf War. The parade was then held on the Constitution Avenue. Trump now wants this to be an annual feature.
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