Parade plan is misguided, wasteful

Posted June 11, 2025 10:44 am

Do we really need a Russian-style military parade? The U.S. Army is set to hold a “Grand Military Parade” on June 14 to commemorate its 250th anniversary. June 14 is Trump’s birthday and many are anticipating based on past history that this event may morph into a homage to our current president.

The parade will include more than 6,600 soldiers, 150 military vehicles, 50 helicopters and performances from seven military bands. Army officials have not disclosed the total cost for the celebration, but estimates range from $25 million to $45 million. This is not supposed to happen in a democracy. This is what dictators do, and we do not need further evidence of Trump’s ambitions to use the military for his own benefit.

The GOP in the House just approved billions in cuts to SNAP and Medicaid while granting a huge tax cut to the multimillionaire donors. Perhaps instead of spending those parade millions on a parade, that money would be better spent on food for the hungry, medical research, or assisting all the thousands of federal workers Trump and DOGE so callously fired in the pretense of cutting fraud and abuse?

Vivian Lenski

Huntley

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