The contrast was stark. In the nation’s capital, tens of thousands came Saturday to the National Mall to cheer on a military parade marking the 250th Anniversary of the U.S. Army—which also happened to fall on President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday.
Elsewhere around the country, in small towns and large cities, far greater numbers—organizers say millions—gathered to chant “No Kings” and protest Trump’s deployment of military might against protestors in Los Angeles, as well as his expansive use of Presidential power to intimidate elected officials and judges, purge the government of independent watchdogs, block Congressional funding to agencies and universities, and ignore Constitutional guarantees of due process.
The protests unfolded first—some taking place in the morning, others midday and in the afternoon—creating the largest mass opposition to Trump since his inauguration 145 days ago. The parade kicked off in the evening, with a contingent heavy with MAGA hats and shirts lined up at the National Mall and along Constitution Avenue to watch paratoopers jumping out of an airplane and World War II fighters escorting a bomber past the Washington Monument. Through it all Trump was seated at a reviewing stand in front of the Washington Monument, alongside his wife, and much of his Cabinet, all of them behind bullet-proof glass.
The parade showcased America’s military history through thousands of Army troops marching past in historical uniforms—starting with the American Revolution and continuing through both world wars and on to the Korean and Vietnam Wars. The narration of the parade, which alternated between history lesson and recruiting ad for the Army, occasionally thanked private companies such as Lockheed Martin, Coinbase and Palantir.
“Whenever duty calls, whatever danger comes, the American soldier will be there,” Trump said in his speech later that evening, just before a fireworks show.
It’s unclear if Trump viewed the event as living up to its inspiration—the Bastille Day parade he witnessed in Paris in 2017 alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, with marching troops and military vehicles parading past the iconic Arc de Triomphe toward him. The grandiose display transfixed Trump, who came back to Washington and was set on organizing his own version. But the planning proved expensive and city officials were concerned about the damage tanks and military equipment would do to the streets of the capital.
In a second term where he has knocked down many of the guardrails he encountered in the first, plans for the military parade came together quickly.
It was hard to predict how Trump’s long-desired military parade would unfold at such a charged moment in which he had deployed federal troops on US soil and was grappling with an escalating direct conflict between Israel and Iran. A political assassination in Minnesota further added to the tension.
Yet for many attending the parade, the focus was on the nation’s strength and not its challenges.
“It is just a day to be a proud American,” says Crystal Sykes, 58, a nurse who took the train from her home in North Carolina to be at the parade. She wore the red Make America Great Again hat that she’s had since Trump’s first term, with a pin attached to it that displays Trump’s name and the American flag in sparkling rhinestones. “If the military doesn’t have our support, nobody will want to join.”
The Army estimated the events, which included Army fitness demonstrations and activities on the National Mall, would ultimately cost somewhere between $25 million to $45 million. That included the costs to repair damage to Washington, D.C. streets from Abrams tanks.
“I wish it cost less, but I like it,” says Joey Ink, a 19-year-old college student from Maryland, who attended “to show support for the military, the veterans.” Ink says he voted for Trump but wouldn’t call himself a Trump supporter.
Trump’s long-sought parade proved to be an effective rallying point for hundreds of protests around the country—with estimates of 100,000 in Philadelphia, 50,000 in New York City, 30,000 in L.A. and 20,000 in Chicago. The lead organizers purposely didn’t plan an event in Washington, but some protesters showed up there as well anyway.
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In front of the White House that afternoon, a banner read “All Hail Commander Bone Spurs.” as a crowd of about 500 people chanted “Trump must go now!” The location of the protest—Lafayette Park—was the same area where five years earlier, Trump had infamously used the National Guard to clear protestors so he could walk over to a nearby church and pose with a Bible. “We have to do something or it’s going to be the end of democracy,” says Jill Taylor, 60, a speech pathologist who traveled to Washington from Kansas to protest Trump’s military parade.
Earlier in the day on Saturday, in nearby Takoma Park, Maryland, hundreds of people packed the sidewalks of a major road holding signs reading “No Kings” and “F–k ICE”. Martha Dominguez, 25, a mental health professional living in nearby Landover, says she was there because of Trump’s immigration policies. Federal agents pulling people from jobs and off the street has left her afraid, even though she is a U.S. citizen. “I feel targeted every time I go out of the house,” says Dominguez. “Trump thinks he’s all that,” she says. “He thinks he’s a king. We are going against that because no one is above the law.”
Even farther out from Washington and other major cities, people gathered in smaller communities like Mountainside, N.J., where roughly 500 people lined both sides of a busy, four-lane divided highway and spanned a footbridge adorned with a sign reading, “No Kings Since 1776.” Those who braved the rain in the town of 7,000 included Lex and Sean, who brought their two kids—ages five and three—to their first protest, and Connor 25, who was visibly upset as they talked about having queer friends and a trans sister. “People I care about are getting attacked by the administration, and that’s just not something that I can live with if I sit by and do nothing.”
Back in Washington, the parade was followed by a performance by country musician Warren Zeiders and Trump delivering the Oath of Enlistment to a group of soldiers. “Welcome to the United States Army and have a great life,” Trump told them.
Not far away, one of the few protesters still in downtown Washington found themselves surrounded by a small crowd chanting “Trump Trump!” A park police officer walked over and the crowd eventually dispersed.
—Leslie Dickstein contributed reporting from Mountainside, N.J.