Trump Cancels Military Parade; Blames D.C. Officials for “Ridiculous Cost”

President Donald Trump has decided to cancel the D.C. military parade he’d always wanted citing the ridiculous cost pegged at $92 million, and blamed city politicians for “jacking up the price.” Trump’s own tweet confirmed the cancellation.

The President posted in two tweets: The local politicians who run Washington, D.C. (poorly) know a windfall when they see it. When asked to give us a price for holding a great celebratory military parade, they wanted a number so ridiculously high that I canceled it. Never let someone hold you up! I will instead…”

He added: “attend the big parade already scheduled at Andrews Air Force Base on a different date, & go to the Paris parade, celebrating the end of the War, on November 11th. Maybe we will do something next year in D.C. when the cost comes WAY DOWN. Now we can buy some more jet fighters!”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The local politicians who run Washington, D.C. (poorly) know a windfall when they see it. When asked to give us a price for holding a great celebratory military parade, they wanted a number so ridiculously high that I cancelled it. Never let someone hold you up! I will instead…</p>&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1030423480725118976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 17, 2018</a></blockquote>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">….attend the big parade already scheduled at Andrews Air Force Base on a different date, &amp; go to the Paris parade, celebrating the end of the War, on November 11th. Maybe we will do something next year in D.C. when the cost comes WAY DOWN. Now we can buy some more jet fighters!</p>&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1030426536871116801?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 17, 2018</a></blockquote>

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The parade was earlier planned for Veterans Day. The President, however, still left open the possibility of holding the event, perhaps next year. Trump has also just opted to attend the Paris parade commemorating the end of World War I instead. He was invited last year to watch the French Bastille Day military parade leaving him impressed, which in part also inspired him to call for having an American one in Washington. He was even quoted as saying: “We're going to have to try and top it."

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, for his part, refused to comment on the mind-boggling $92 million estimate for the cost. He said: “I'm not dignifying that number ($92 million) with a reply. I would discount that, and anybody who said (that number), I'll almost guarantee you one thing: They probably said, 'I need to stay anonymous.' No kidding, because you look like an idiot. And No. 2, whoever wrote it needs to get better sources. I'll just leave it at that."

The American Legion's commander will most likely welcome the new development as he said Thursday that, while the organization appreciated that Trump "wants to show in a dramatic fashion our nation’s support for our troops," it would be more optimal to spend the money on funding the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Source:

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump