What to Know About Trump’s $45 Million Military Parade, Which Is Taking Over D.C. on His 79th Birthday

Saturday, June 14, is the birthday of both Donald Trump and the United States Army — and the president is celebrating the dual occasion with a massive military spectacle. 

Trump, who turns 79 on Saturday, has commissioned a day of festivities and an ambitious parade with the stated goal of honoring the Army’s 250th birthday.

Army spokesperson Lt. Col. Ruth Castro previously told CNBC that the parade, which will conclude with a fireworks display, will feature 6,600 soldiers, as well as 50 military aircraft and 150 vehicles.

“It’s going to be an amazing day,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday, June 10. “We have planes. We have all sorts of things. And I think it’s going to be great. We’re going to celebrate our country for a change.”

He then warned that anyone who attempts to protest the event will not be treated gently by the government.

“For those people that want to protest, they’re going to be met with very big force,” he said. “And I haven’t even heard about a protest, but you know, this is people that hate our country.”

Despite his warning, millions of protestors are expected to take to the streets in cities across America as part of the “No Kings” movement.

The website for the “national day of defiance” includes a map displaying hundreds of planned protests against Trump’s “authoritarianism.”

“We’re not gathering to feed his ego. We’re building a movement that leaves him behind,” it reads. “The flag doesn’t belong to President Trump. It belongs to us. We’re not watching history happen. We’re making it. On June 14, we’re showing up everywhere he isn’t—to say no thrones, no crowns, no kings.”

Preparations for the event began at the start of the week, as tractor-trailers and trains transported Army vehicles, including M1 Abrams tanks, Bradley Fighting Vehicles and M109 Howitzers, to the nation’s capital.

The Army Corps of Engineers also went to work, installing large metal plates on the city streets to mitigate damage from the tanks, some of which can weigh 60 tons or more.

In May, the Army told NBC 4 Washington that the parade was expected to cost between $25 and $45 million — with a spokesperson confirming that the high end was a possibility. The estimate includes the cost of fixing D.C. streets from any damage done by the vehicles, which military leaders believe may cost up to $16 million.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser told The Associated Press that she remained concerned about damage to the roads despite the Trump administration’s promise to fix them. 

“I think that there has been time and attention paid to how to move this heavy equipment in a way that doesn’t hurt [roads],” she said. “If they are rendered unusable, we have to make them usable and then go seek our money from the feds.”

Saturday’s events will begin with the Army Fitness Competition and Awards and the Army Birthday Festival, both held on the National Mall. The parade is set to commence at 6:30 p.m. ET, running along Constitution Avenue on the north side of the Mall, followed by fireworks, which will begin between 7:30-8 p.m. ET.

The festival and parade are free to the public; however, there are special points of entry for security purposes. The event is classified as a National Special Security Event, “an event of national or international significance deemed by the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to be a potential target for terrorism or other criminal activity,” D.C. police said on their website.

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There will be no bleachers, and chairs are among the list of prohibited items, so all events are expected to be standing room only.

Other prohibited items include backpacks, bags and soft-sided coolers larger than 18″x13″x7″, bicycles, balloons, drones, glass, selfie sticks and ammunition or weapons of any kind.

All arrivals and departures at Reagan National Airport will be paused between 6:30 and 9 p.m. ET, and a long list of road closures and parking restrictions is available to view on the Metropolitan Police Department’s website. 

Trump defended the price tag of the event in a May Meet the Press interview, saying the cost of the celebration is “peanuts compared to the value of doing it.”

“We have the greatest missiles in the world. We have the greatest submarines in the world. We have the greatest army tanks in the world. We have the greatest weapons in the world. And we’re going to celebrate it,” he added.