US Politics
Trump’s birthday military parade could cause $16 million of damage to DC’s streets
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Donald Trump’s birthday military parade could cause as much as $16 million worth of damage to the streets of Washington, D.C., officials estimate.
The June 14 parade, which will celebrate the Army’s 250th anniversary, is being held on the president’s own 79th birthday and will cost around $45 million. That price tag includes the estimated damage.
Trump himself has called the cost of the parade “peanuts compared to the value of doing it.”
Organizers say that the parade will consist of around 130 vehicles, including 28 M1A1 tanks, 28 Bradley Fighting Vehicles, 28 Stryker armored fighting vehicles and artillery launchers being towed.
A flyover of the U.S. capital will be undertaken by more than 50 helicopters, while 7,000 soldiers will march in the streets. There will also be at least eight bands, three dozen horses and two mules.
The Army has said that it will cover all repair costs to the District’s streets, which it estimates will be $16 million, according to NBC News.
It has already said that it would place thick metal plates as long as 20ft down where tanks will turn on the parade route, at a cost of $3 million.
Earlier this week, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said she was “concerned” about the scope of damage that the tanks and armored vehicles could cause.
“These are, for the most part, local streets, and if they’re rendered in unusable, we have to make them usable,” she said.
“Probably we would fix it and then go seek our money from the Fed,” she said. “That gives me some concern about fronting costs and waiting for them to get back.”
Trump told NBC News’ Meet the Press earlier this month that the 90-minute parade would be well worth its eye-watering cost.
“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,” Trump insisted.
