Flexing isn’t cheap.
The Department of Defense estimates that President Trump’s long promised military parade will cost $92 million – a whopping $80 million more than initially estimated.
So what will Trump get for that kind of money? Infantry, two tank platoons, and a smattering of armored vehicles parading on Capitol Hill. Experts were initially concerned that the 70-ton tanks would tear up the pavement down Pennsylvania Avenue. Specialized track pads, CNBC reports, will distribute the weight and save the nation’s infrastructure.
No specialized piece military equipment, no sort of new technology, will save the country from this illiberal boondoggle. Wooed by the pomp and splendor of foreign powers, Trump forgets that the legions of these United States are supposed to be crowd shy.
It is not just that the greatest military fighting force in world history doesn’t need to show off its strength. It is that our democracy keeps the military out of the civilian realm for a reason. Like I wrote before the Trump inauguration, the military’s Oath of Enlistment makes clear that the military bows to civilian authority and for most of American history it’s bowed out of the public eye. Because of Trump that long tradition will come to an end.
The soldiers marching on Washington aren’t returning from victory like they did when General Norman Schwarzkopf paraded his troops after the First Persian Gulf War. This latest parade will come in 2018 when there is no recent victory to tout nor any budding conflict ahead of which to rally the public.
Turns out, authoritarian displays are both ostentatious and expensive. For both reasons, Trump should cancel.
