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Posted on 06/15/2025 11:35:32 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
I arrived for the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary parade in Washington D.C. on a drizzly Saturday afternoon with considerable consternation and concern.
I knew that President Donald Trump had been agitating for such a spectacle since 2017, but that his first secretary of defense, Jim Mattis, had refused, because he viewed this as something that occurred in dictatorships like Russia and North Korea. In private, Mattis reportedly said he would rather “swallow acid” than have troops parading through the capital.
Now Trump has a far more accommodating, and far less qualified, secretary of defense in Pete Hegseth, thereby opening the door to the potential politicization of the U.S. armed forces. That danger has been on display in the past week, with Trump deploying the National Guard and U.S. Marines to Los Angeles over the protests of local leaders and delivering a campaign-style speech at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, that produced disturbing video clips of 82nd Airborne troops cheering while he bashed Democrats and the media.
My worry was that Trump would turn the Army parade into just another political pageant. Those concerns only grew when I saw how many of the spectators were wearing MAGA hats or shirts.
But my apprehension began to melt away as soon as the music started to play and the soldiers began to march. Dear reader, I hope you do not think I am going soft on Trump if I tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed the entire parade.
As a military history nerd, I loved to see the soldiers marching by in period uniforms from the American Revolution, the Civil War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Gulf War. I thrilled to the flybys from historic aircraft...
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
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It was grand, and good marketing.
I agree.
The pompous assedness of the author is sadly on bigger display than the parade he reports on.
It was lightly attended and very low energy, to the point that Russian state media is making fun of it.
“As a military history nerd…
…if that were the case, he’d be a conservative.
Max Boot is a putz.
I particularly liked the fireworks and the accompanying music.
What a snarky little twit. Too bad he could not leave out the politics of the event like Trump he admitted, did.
“Trump is a dictator and he surrounds himself with incompetents, but I liked the parade.”
This is what passes as discourse now?
So, President Trump made the parade about the history of the Army, and not about himself. Eat it, Yellow Journalist.
Why is Max Boot posted here?
The guy is a flat out RINO.
I don’t think the Ruskies would like to see our Army up close and personal.
“Now Trump has a far more accommodating, and far less qualified, secretary of defense in Pete Hegseth,..”
Who is this a-hole?
People in the DC area are largely anti-US. After Jan 6th, many patriotic Americans are reluctant to go to DC.
When is the last time the Pentagon passed an audit with "the qualified" at the helm? Last I heard it was seven or eight years of FAIL.
So stuff it.
I’m guessing a light attendance might be partially due to there being “No Kings” marches from coast to coast, and some Trump supporters preferred not to become a part of that uncertainty.
I haven’t actually heard much of anything, pro or con about the Army parade, so your take on it is valuable.
ESAD Max Boot
Glad you came to your senses Max.
If the Russian state media is making fun of it, it must have been a success!
I thought it was great.
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