Army spokesman tells The Times of safety fears as president hopes to mark 250 years of the US military with event in Washington on Saturday
https://www.thetimes.com/us/american-politics/article/is-trump-birthday-parade-cancelled-weather-pbrg02h2z?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1749744495
In the run-up to his 79th birthday on Saturday, President Trump invited his fellow Americans to Washington for a parade that would celebrate the 250th anniversary of "the greatest fighting force ever to walk the face of the earth, the United States army".
It has "smashed foreign empires, humbled kings, toppled tyrants and hunted terrorist savages through the very gates of hell", he said.
It now faces another threat that may not be quelled by a terrific show of force. It looks as if it may rain on Saturday. There may even be a thunderstorm.
"Rain won't stop us, the tanks don't melt, but if there's lightning then that puts the crowd at risk," Steven Warren, chief spokesman for the army, told The Times. "If there's lightning they will disperse the crowd and even cancel or postpone the parade."
Trump has been awaiting Saturday's festivities with keen anticipation for months. A military parade through Washington had been an ambition of his first term after a trip to Paris that coincided with processions to mark Bastille Day in July 2017. "It was a really beautiful thing to see," he said afterwards.
A plan for a military parade on Veterans Day the following year was cancelled amid concerns over the cost. But after he returned to the White House this year, it was noted that celebrations were already planned to mark the 250th anniversary of an act creating a Corps of Riflemen that was passed by the Continental Congress in Philadelphia on June 14, 1775, laying the foundation stone for the US army. June 14 also happens to be Trump's birthday.
Plans for the parade were set out last month: there would be tanks, shod with special rubber tracks so as not to damage the roads, and 6,600 soldiers marching in historical uniforms from every war since the American Revolution. It was projected to cost between $25 million and $45 million. Trump said this would be "peanuts compared to the value of doing it".
Last weekend, he issued formal invitations to his fellow Americans, speaking from the Oval Office in a video that was posted on Instagram. "I am thrilled to invite everyone to an unforgettable celebration, one like you've never seen before," he said. "Thundering tanks and breathtaking flyovers will roar through our capital city."
On Monday 28 Abrams tanks, 28 Bradley fighting vehicles and 28 Stryker vehicles rolled off a train into a car park in Jessup, Maryland, after a 2,000-mile rail journey from Fort Cavazos, in Texas.
On Tuesday the president gave a speech at Fort Bragg, the headquarters of the US Army Special Operations Command, in North Carolina. Other countries recently celebrated the end of the First World War, he said. "The only one that doesn't celebrate is the USA and we're the ones that won the war. Without us, you'd all be speaking German right now. Maybe a little Japanese thrown in."
He proceeded to offer a glowing review of the US army and its history. Enemies of the United States had learnt, "time and again", that if they threatened the United States an "American soldier will chase you down, crush you, and cast you into oblivion", he said. "That's what happens, unfortunately. It doesn't sound very nice, but it's true. The last sound you ever hear will be the chilling howl of Black Hawks in the dead of night, the thunderous boom of artillery fire or the ferocious roar of a US army infantry brigade charging over the horizon."
All this would now be celebrated. "Saturday is going to be a big day in Washington DC," he said. "A lot of people said: 'We don't want to do that.' I say: 'Yeah, we do. We want to show off a little bit.'"
It is not the first time that a last-minute intervention by the weather has put a spanner in the wheels for Trump. In January, a sudden cold snap forced the triumphal festivities of Trump's inauguration day inside. A parade planned for the National Mall had to circulate inside instead, around a basketball arena.
The Chinese government, facing similar provocations from clouds, has responded with efforts to seed rain by spraying the heavens with chemicals a technique said to have been deployed before the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Russia was reported to have taken similar action before a May Day parade in 2016. The US army appears to be greeting the forecast with more equanimity.
"It's June in Washington DC, we get thunderstorms," said Warren, the army spokesman. "You could delay it, you could look at it and say this is just passing through. Or say, hey, this is a storm which gets bigger for a while."
https://www.thetimes.com/us/american-politics/article/is-trump-birthday-parade-cancelled-weather-pbrg02h2z?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1749744495
In the run-up to his 79th birthday on Saturday, President Trump invited his fellow Americans to Washington for a parade that would celebrate the 250th anniversary of "the greatest fighting force ever to walk the face of the earth, the United States army".
It has "smashed foreign empires, humbled kings, toppled tyrants and hunted terrorist savages through the very gates of hell", he said.
It now faces another threat that may not be quelled by a terrific show of force. It looks as if it may rain on Saturday. There may even be a thunderstorm.
"Rain won't stop us, the tanks don't melt, but if there's lightning then that puts the crowd at risk," Steven Warren, chief spokesman for the army, told The Times. "If there's lightning they will disperse the crowd and even cancel or postpone the parade."
Trump has been awaiting Saturday's festivities with keen anticipation for months. A military parade through Washington had been an ambition of his first term after a trip to Paris that coincided with processions to mark Bastille Day in July 2017. "It was a really beautiful thing to see," he said afterwards.
A plan for a military parade on Veterans Day the following year was cancelled amid concerns over the cost. But after he returned to the White House this year, it was noted that celebrations were already planned to mark the 250th anniversary of an act creating a Corps of Riflemen that was passed by the Continental Congress in Philadelphia on June 14, 1775, laying the foundation stone for the US army. June 14 also happens to be Trump's birthday.
Plans for the parade were set out last month: there would be tanks, shod with special rubber tracks so as not to damage the roads, and 6,600 soldiers marching in historical uniforms from every war since the American Revolution. It was projected to cost between $25 million and $45 million. Trump said this would be "peanuts compared to the value of doing it".
Last weekend, he issued formal invitations to his fellow Americans, speaking from the Oval Office in a video that was posted on Instagram. "I am thrilled to invite everyone to an unforgettable celebration, one like you've never seen before," he said. "Thundering tanks and breathtaking flyovers will roar through our capital city."
On Monday 28 Abrams tanks, 28 Bradley fighting vehicles and 28 Stryker vehicles rolled off a train into a car park in Jessup, Maryland, after a 2,000-mile rail journey from Fort Cavazos, in Texas.
On Tuesday the president gave a speech at Fort Bragg, the headquarters of the US Army Special Operations Command, in North Carolina. Other countries recently celebrated the end of the First World War, he said. "The only one that doesn't celebrate is the USA and we're the ones that won the war. Without us, you'd all be speaking German right now. Maybe a little Japanese thrown in."
He proceeded to offer a glowing review of the US army and its history. Enemies of the United States had learnt, "time and again", that if they threatened the United States an "American soldier will chase you down, crush you, and cast you into oblivion", he said. "That's what happens, unfortunately. It doesn't sound very nice, but it's true. The last sound you ever hear will be the chilling howl of Black Hawks in the dead of night, the thunderous boom of artillery fire or the ferocious roar of a US army infantry brigade charging over the horizon."
All this would now be celebrated. "Saturday is going to be a big day in Washington DC," he said. "A lot of people said: 'We don't want to do that.' I say: 'Yeah, we do. We want to show off a little bit.'"
It is not the first time that a last-minute intervention by the weather has put a spanner in the wheels for Trump. In January, a sudden cold snap forced the triumphal festivities of Trump's inauguration day inside. A parade planned for the National Mall had to circulate inside instead, around a basketball arena.
The Chinese government, facing similar provocations from clouds, has responded with efforts to seed rain by spraying the heavens with chemicals a technique said to have been deployed before the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Russia was reported to have taken similar action before a May Day parade in 2016. The US army appears to be greeting the forecast with more equanimity.
"It's June in Washington DC, we get thunderstorms," said Warren, the army spokesman. "You could delay it, you could look at it and say this is just passing through. Or say, hey, this is a storm which gets bigger for a while."
“It is impossible to get a man to understand something if his livelihood depends on him not understanding.” ~ Upton Sinclair