Discussions under way to fulfil Trump’s wish of Washington military parade

The Trump administration is having early discussions about a grand military parade in Washington during the summer, something that is a long-held dream of the president.

Washington DC mayor Muriel Bowser said on Monday that the administration had reached out to the city about holding a parade on June 14 that would stretch from Arlington in Virginia, where the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery are located, across the Potomac River and into Washington.

The army is in early discussions about adding a parade to its 250th birthday festival, which is being held on June 14, according to a defence official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions are ongoing and no decisions have been made.

June 14 is also Donald Trump’s 79th birthday.

The White House in a statement said that “no military parade has been scheduled”.

The army birthday festival, which has been in the planning stages for about two years, is to include an array of activities and displays on the National Mall, including Stryker armoured vehicles, Humvees, helicopters and other equipment.

In a statement, army spokesman Colonel David Butler said “it’s too early to say yet whether or not we’re having a parade but we’re working with the White House as well as several government agencies to make the celebration a national level event”.

In his first term, Mr Trump proposed having a grand military parade in the US after watching one in France on Bastille Day in 2017. After watching the two-hour procession along the Champs-Elysees, he said he wanted a grander one in Washington on Pennsylvania Avenue.

The event never happened due to expected high costs, with one estimate of a 92 million dollar (£71.76 million) price tag, and logistical issues.

Mr Trump in 2018 said in a post on the social media site then known as Twitter that he was cancelling the event over costs and accused local politicians of price gouging.

“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,” he said in his post.

Ms Bowser, speaking at a news conference on Monday, said she did not know if the event was being “characterised as a military parade” but said military tanks rolling through the city’s streets “would not be good”.

“If military tanks were used, they should be accompanied with many millions of dollars to repair the roads,” she said.

Takis Karantonis, the chairman of the Arlington County Board, said in a statement that Secret Service contacted the county on Friday “regarding the possibility of a military parade to celebrate the 250th Anniversary of the US Army, but no further details were offered”.

Mr Karantonis said it was not clear what the scope of the parade would be but said: “I would hope the federal government remains sensitive to the pain and concerns of numerous active military and veteran residents, who have lost or might lose their jobs in recent federal decisions, as they reflect on how best to celebrate the army’s anniversary.”