Baby gets parade
Trump is putting on the full fascist display for the 4th of July, at least as close to it as he can get.
Donald Trump said on Monday that a display of US military tanks would be part of a special event he is headlining on the Fourth of July in Washington.
As if that were just normal, but it isn’t.
Trump had wanted a military parade of tanks and other equipment in the District of Columbia after he witnessed a similar parade on Bastille Day in Paris in 2017. That plan eventually was scuttled, partly because of cost, though Trump apparently held on to the idea.
Want tanks! Want tanks n planes n sojers n noise! Am big baby! Plus despot! Am big despot baby!
Two M1A1 Abrams tanks and two Bradley Fighting Vehicles will be on display as part of Trump’s “Salute to America” event, according to a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity because details of the exhibits have not been made public.
You could always do a salute to America by celebrating its people, or its scenery, or its spasmodic efforts to live up to its myths. You don’t have to salute it in the literal military sense.
Federal lawmakers, local officials and others have voiced concerns that Trump could alter the tone of what traditionally is a nonpartisan celebration of America’s independence from the British by delivering a political speech. Trump formally announced his bid for re-election in June.
Count on it. If there’s a tradition, count on him to break it. If there’s a norm, count on him to flout it. If there’s a better way to go, count on him to ignore it.
*”Could”*?
Ya think???
(h/t some random person on Facebook)
To me this sounds like a 5-year-old telling you about something exciting that’s going to happen the next day at school:
“I’m going to be here and I’m going to say a few words and we’re going to have planes going overhead, the best fighter jets in the world and other planes too and we’re gonna have some tanks stationed outside.”
Source for the quote:
https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/01/politics/tanks-july-4-washington/index.html
According to a report I read in The Independent earlier today, he’s insisting that the heads of the three armed forces will be flanking him when he watches ‘his’ parade, just like a real tinpot dictator.
I’m still thinking he might have had a big-boy sojer uniform made for the day.
Hmmm. It would certainly be fascinating if he did, given the bone spurs issue.
Maybe whip one up from the patterns for Nixon’s Palace Guard uniforms. They must be in the National Archives somewhere.
Found that Independent story. He apparently demanded their attendance but says that the leaders of the four (not three, as I said earlier) military branches are thrilled to be standing with him for his big parade. He seems very excited about the “Incredible Flyovers & biggest ever Fireworks!” Bigliest everrrr!
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-salute-to-america-4th-july-chief-of-staff-army-washington-dc-twitter-a8984571.html
Re “big-boy sojer uniform”: in one Jerzy Kosinski novel, the narrator protagonist gets a tailor to create for him an outfit that resembles a uniform. It has insignia and bars and epaulets, all the flourishes that would go with a high-ranking military officer’s uniform, but it was deliberately not the same as any existing military uniform. The tailors, once they got over their discomfort, really got into the task. The protagonist found that wearing the uniform got him all sorts of respect and privileges. It only became an issue when some suspicious person asked what military branch he belonged to.
I have a strong feeling that Trump would love such an outfit and the kind of reactions people had to it.
Also, Trump “formally announced” his bid for re-election in June, but he *filed the FEC paperwork* very shortly after (if not before) election day 2016. One wonders what sorts of “campaign expenses” his people have been getting up to since then.