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https://scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3017333/july-4-parade-rolls-through-washington-donald-trump
World/ United States & Canada

With tanks and fighter planes, Donald Trump celebrates US military in July 4 salute, defying critics

  • Against backdrop of military vehicles, US leader was first president in nearly 70 years to address crowd at National Mall
  • Trump is defensive over cost of event and accusations he is ‘hijacking’ celebration to boost 2020 campaign
US President Donald Trump and Melania Trump at the Salute to America event at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington on Thursday. Photo: AFP

With tanks on display and planes flying overhead, US President Donald Trump praised the military and urged young people to join the armed forces on Thursday in a celebration of Independence Day that critics said the president had politicised.

Trump, a Republican who admired flashy displays of national pride and military strength in France, dismissed concerns ahead of the ceremony about the expense and militaristic overtones of the event outside the 97-year-old Lincoln Memorial, a symbol of national unity.

“Our nation is stronger today than it ever was before. It is its strongest now,” Trump said from a platform in front of the famous memorial, echoing a theme he uses at campaign rallies.

He spoke positively about the military, and with well-planned choreography, told stories about each branch to introduce separate flyovers of military aircraft.

The US Navy Blue Angels do a flyover at the Independence Day celebration in front of the Lincoln Memorial on Thursday. Photo: AP
The US Navy Blue Angels do a flyover at the Independence Day celebration in front of the Lincoln Memorial on Thursday. Photo: AP

“For over 65 years, no enemy Air Force has managed to kill a single American soldier. Because the skies belong to the United States of America,” he said.

The speech was to be followed by a concert on the US Capitol lawn at the opposite end of the National Mall and fireworks, weather permitting.

With his decision to add his own production to the usual festivities, Trump set himself up to be the first president in nearly seven decades to address a crowd at the National Mall on Independence Day.

Not since 1951, when President Harry Truman spoke before a large gathering on the Washington Monument grounds to mark the 175th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, has a commander-in-chief made an Independence Day speech to a sizeable crowd on the Mall.

People watch the Fourth of July parade in Washington on Thursday. Photo: AFP
People watch the Fourth of July parade in Washington on Thursday. Photo: AFP

Protests erupted in 1970 when President Richard Nixon taped a message that was played to crowds on the Mall at an “Honour America Day” celebration organised by supporters.

Thousands of supporters wearing Trump’s signature “Make America Great Again” hats, along with opponents questioning the cost of the event, poured into the US capital despite scorching temperatures and intermittent rain, while a six-metre (20-foot) diapered “Baby Trump” balloon sat next to a banner calling Trump a traitor.

Protesters burned a US flag in front of the White House.

“People are coming from far and wide to join us today and tonight for what is turning out to be one of the biggest celebrations in the history of our Country,” Trump tweeted early on Thursday, seeming to encourage crowds to descend on the monument-lined mall.

Ahead of the speech, Democrats accused the president of staging an out-of-place campaign rally, aware he has a history of veering off script with sharp partisan attacks even at events that are not meant to be overtly political.

A Trump Baby balloon, set up by members of the CodePink group, is seen ahead of the Salute to America event in Washington on Thursday. Photo: AFP
A Trump Baby balloon, set up by members of the CodePink group, is seen ahead of the Salute to America event in Washington on Thursday. Photo: AFP

Flights were to be suspended at nearby Reagan National Airport from 6.15pm to 7.45pm and then again for the later festivities.

Trump supporters and opponents carried American flags and wore red, white and blue outfits.

“I think what Trump’s doing with the tanks, all the flyovers, I think it’s great,” said Brandon Lawrence, his face painted with the colours of the American flag.

Some at the White House had worried about the crowd size, according to an administration official.

In January 2017 Trump fumed about reports that the crowd at his inauguration ceremony in front of the Capitol was smaller than it was for President Barack Obama.

Perhaps with the crowd size in mind, Trump sent out tweets urging people to attend and saying the wait would be worth it. As it happened, the crowd lined both sides of the reflecting pool in front of the memorial.

A Donald Trump supporter watches the parade along Constitution Avenue in Washington on Thursday. Photo: EPA-EFE
A Donald Trump supporter watches the parade along Constitution Avenue in Washington on Thursday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Opponents were not impressed.

“This is costing us millions and millions of dollars. We the taxpayers are paying for it, for Donald Trump to use our military as a prop. And that’s just not right,” said Medea Benjamin, co-founder of the women-led peace group Code Pink.

Republican political groups were given prime tickets for Trump’s speech, and The Washington Post reported that the US National Park Service diverted US$2.5 million in park entrance fees to help pay for the event.

Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders weighed in with criticism: “This is what authoritarians do: @realDonaldTrump is taking US$2.5 million away from our National Park Service to glorify himself with a spectacle of military tanks rolling through Washington,” he wrote in a tweet.

Trump played down the expense.

Soldiers work on a Bradley fighting vehicle on display in front of the Lincoln Memorial on Thursday. Photo: EPA-EFE/ERIK
Soldiers work on a Bradley fighting vehicle on display in front of the Lincoln Memorial on Thursday. Photo: EPA-EFE/ERIK

“The cost of our great Salute to America tomorrow will be very little compared to what it is worth. We own the planes, we have the pilots, the airport is right next door (Andrews), all we need is the fuel,” he posted on Twitter on Wednesday.

“We own the tanks and all. Fireworks are donated by two of the greats. Nice!” Andrews is the name of a nearby military base.

Trump glossed over the expense of shipping tanks and fighting vehicles to Washington by rail and guarding them for several days, and other costs.

US President Donald Trump speaks during the Salute to America event at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington on Thursday. Photo: AFP
US President Donald Trump speaks during the Salute to America event at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington on Thursday. Photo: AFP

The July 4 holiday celebrates the US founders’ declaring independence from Britain in 1776.

Washington has held an Independence Day celebration for decades, featuring a parade along Constitution Avenue, a concert on the Capitol lawn with music by the National Symphony Orchestra and fireworks beginning at dusk near the Washington Monument.

Trump altered the line-up by adding his speech, moving the fireworks closer to the Lincoln Memorial and summoning tanks and warplanes.

Additional reporting by Associated Press