President Donald Trump’s birthday tank parade, which is costing taxpayers an estimated $45 million, was a relatively lackluster affair—especially considering the hefty price tag.
The parade was forced to start early, with events kicking off approximately 30 minutes earlier than planned, in an attempt to beat the storms forecast for Saturday evening. While only light rain fell on the parade, the drizzly forecast could have been one reason why so many people stayed home, resulting in a sparse, muted crowd for Trump’s big, beautiful birthday extravaganza.
While television cameras at the event were largely trained on the soldiers, tanks, aircraft, and other military vehicles as they made their way down Constitution Avenue, footage posted to social media shows empty bleachers, sparse crowds, and near-silence owing to the lack of loudspeakers along the parade route. A New York Times reporter in attendance said of the crowds, “The energy level at the military parade here is a bit desultory. The crowds are calm and light, a bit sapped after waiting in the oppressive D.C. humidity for hours to make it to this point.”
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The energy onstage didn’t appear to be much better, with commenters on social media highlighting footage of Secretary of State Marco Rubio yawning and seemingly having a difficult time “hiding his boredom.”
Others, including an Irish newspaper, noted that Melania Trump, in attendance alongside her husband, looked like she was falling asleep at several points, as cameras caught her with her eyes closed and appearing to doze off.
It wasn’t just Trump’s supporters who failed to show up in significant numbers—several of his own family members were not in attendance, including daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner.
Those who did attend included Vice President JD Vance, his wife and their two children, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, UFC CEO Dana White, and Trump’s Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, as well as several senior military officials. UFC was one of the sponsors of the parade, alongside Coinbase, a cryptocurrency exchange, Oracle, a software company, and Lockheed Martin. We learned this as their names were shouted out by the parade emcee as the parade progressed.
The parade came late in the day, following more than 2,000 "No Kings“ protests around the country planned to coincide with Trump’s birthday. Hundreds of thousands of people across the U.S. participated in these protests. While crowd numbers are hard to estimate, the New York City Police Department estimated roughly 50,000 people, while an estimated 80,000 protesters marched in Philadelphia.
Protesters were also present at the parade; The New York Times reported that a group had gathered in a spot near the parade zone, with people bearing signs that read, “Stop fascists now!“ and “Army, do your job — 86 47.”
Trump’s parade, planned to coincide with his birthday but ostensibly designed to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States Army, has drawn significant criticism because of the massive cost to taxpayers, and concern from D.C. officials over the potential damage the tanks might do to city streets.
