President Donald Trump’s dream of hosting a military parade in Washington was met with widespread derision Wednesday, with critics seeing evidence of creeping authoritarianism.
White House and military officials confirmed preliminary planning was already underway, but said a date had not yet been decided.
“I think we’re all aware, in this country, of the president’s affection and respect for the military,” said Defense Secretary James Mattis.
“We’ve been putting together some options. We’ll send them up to the White House for a decision.”
Democratic lawmakers leaped to pillory Trump’s plan as an “idiot” and “authoritarian” idea from a “Napoleon in the making.”
Meanwhile support was thin on the ground, even among Trump’s advocates in Congress.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told reporters on Capitol Hill that a parade “makes sense,” with some caveats.
“I’m not looking for a Soviet-style hardware display. That’s not who we are. It’s kind of cheesy, and I think shows weakness quite frankly,” he said.
“But have a parade where we can display our finest and we can all say ‘thank you’ and honor them would be fine.”
Republican congressman Jim Jordan, a top Trump ally, suggested further deliberation was needed. “We’ll have that debate,” he said.
While military parades are a highlight of the calendar in Moscow, Pyongyang and Paris, they are rare in the United States, where displays of patriotism usually take the form of flag-waving, fireworks and grilled hotdogs.
The last major parade in Washington was in 1991 after the Gulf War, when missiles and tanks rolled through the streets of the capital.
As commander-in-chief, Trump could order the military to carry out a parade without any further debate.
But in a sign of possible tensions between Trump and his own staff, White House officials stressed the idea was still in “discussion.”
“We haven’t made a final decision,” said press secretary Sarah Sanders. “We are simply exploring options.”
Sanders said Trump’s intention was to have “a celebration” of the military.
Still, Trump’s request immediately fueled comparisons to similar events in autocratic countries.
