- US President Donald Trump observed France’s Bastille Day celebration in 2017. He wanted a similar event in the US, but critics were concerned about the cost — and parallels to military parades in totalitarian countries.
- Trump’s "Salute to America" took place on July 4, 2019, and featured flyovers from Air Force One, a B-2 stealth bomber and the Blue Angels.
- Here’s a look at how military parades in states led by strongmen compare to Trump’s July 4 event.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
US President Donald Trump’s military parade on July 4th came with significant criticism, about the cost of the festivities and the politicization of a civic holiday. Some critics even compared the event to similar parades in totalitarian countries.
Trump’s parade drained the fund that Washington, DC uses to provide security for federal events, according to DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, and cost the Pentagon about $1.2 million. He was inspired by France’s Bastille Day celebration, which he attended as a guest of French President Emmanuel Macron in 2017.
While the military firepower at Trump’s "Salute to America" may have been impressive — it included appearances from the Blue Angels and Air Force One — these military parades led by foreign dictators give it a run for its money.
Belarus’s Independence Day celebration in 2018 was a vibrant one.
Vasily Fedosenko / REUTERS
Belarus is nominally a democracy, but its president, Alexander Lukashenko, has been in power since 1994.
Vasily Fedosenko / REUTERS
Source: Deutsche Welle
Beijing celebrated the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II with these camouflaged cruise missiles.
Andy Wong/Pool / REUTERS
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
- The Pentagon says it only spent $1.2 million on Trump’s July 4th blowout, but it’s not clear where that number came from
- Step aboard the USS Jason Dunham, one of the versatile destroyers the Navy uses to do everything from nabbing pirates to tracking Russian warships
- Russian state TV hosts mocked Trump’s July 4th event as ‘low energy’
Source: Business Insider – eioanes@businessinsider.com (Ellen Ioanes)