Trump plans military parade

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump instructed the Pentagon to begin planning a large-scale military parade, the White House confirmed Tuesday. The Washington Post first reported Trump requested the event at a Jan. 18 meeting with military leaders. The president drew inspiration from last year’s Bastille Day celebration in Paris, where he witnessed French troops marching in uniform. “President Trump is incredibly supportive of America’s great service members who risk their lives every day to keep our country safe,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement after the Post published its story. “He has asked the Department of Defense to explore a celebration at which all Americans can show their appreciation.” There’s precedent for displays of force in Washington, D.C., but not in the last quarter of a century. President Dwight Eisenhower included nuclear-capable artillery and missiles in his inaugural parades in 1953 and 1957. There were also displays of military hardware during the height of the Cold War. The last major military parade in the nation’s capital occurred in 1991 to celebrate victory in the Gulf War under President George H.W. Bush. According to the Post, the dates under consideration for a new military parade include Independence Day and Memorial Day, and Nov. 11, which is Veterans Day and the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I.