President Trump may be unable to attend his “grand military parade” if the plan to have it on Veterans Day holds firm.
Trump is expected to be in Paris along with 79 other world leaders at a summit on that day, Nov. 11, according to CNBC.
Still, in a statement Thursday, chief Pentagon spokesperson Dana White said the Defense Department is “looking towards November 11, around Veteran’s Day, and also possibly in conjunction with the World War I centennial celebration.”
“So it would be a celebration not only of our currently serving members but also those of the past,” White added.
The White House did not provide a comment to CNBC regarding Trump’s travel schedule.
Trump has previously floated other dates for the military parade and signaled he was interested in holding the event on Independence Day.
“I like July 4, because July 4 in Washington, D.C., would be beautiful,” he said late last month on Fox News. “It would be up and down Pennsylvania Avenue.”
The event would come with a high price tag. According to White House budget chief Mick Mulvaney, the event is expected to cost between $10 million and $30 million.
Legally, nothing would restrict Trump from holding the parade, but there are logistical concerns, such as how large tanks would fare on Pennsylvania Avenue blacktop.
American presidents have largely shied away from public displays of military equipment because Americans may connect the display to the Soviet Union’s Red Square celebrations or North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s display of Taepodong missiles.
Former President George H.W. Bush organized a parade along Constitution Avenue following the American victory in the Persian Gulf War in 1991.
