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Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Donald Trump fulfilled his yearslong dream of holding a military parade in Washington, D.C., this past June. Miraculously, both the president and his opponents mostly got what they wanted out of the event. Trump got to see lots and lots of tanks and a big fireworks show for his birthday (which just happened to coincide with the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary). Trump’s critics got to say they overshadowed the event by holding No Kings Day protests nationwide (but not in D.C.). An estimated 4 million to 6 million people turned out, making it one of the largest days of protest in U.S. history.

Within weeks, Trump had channeled his passion for dictatorial displays into constructing a White House ballroom, so it seemed like his craving for a military parade had been satisfied. But apparently, that’s not the case. Buried in a long Wall Street Journal piece on Trump’s largely unchecked authoritarianism is the news that Trump was “disappointed” by his first parade, so now the U.S. Navy is looking to throw him an even bigger one this fall:

Trump has also pushed the optics of the presidency in a monarchical direction, holding a military parade in June for the Army’s 250th birthday. Officials had thwarted a similar one in his first term by arguing it would look like a third-world spectacle. After the Washington parade, Trump told aides he was disappointed with the marching, and the U.S. Navy is trying to plan a bigger celebration this fall, hoping for a shimmering spectacle with seacraft, administration officials said.

The U.S. Navy has not announced anything about this. Two weeks before the Army parade, USA Today reported that two of the other military branches were not planning big parades, though they also have big birthdays this year:

Meanwhile, the Navy, which also celebrates its 250th anniversary in October, has no plans for a similar parade, according to a spokesperson. The Marine Corps, too, has its 250th in November, and does not appear to have a parade on tap either.

The Journal report suggests Trump’s main issue wasn’t with the military vehicles but the soldiers’ marching abilities. “The uniformed soldiers marched irregularly, slightly off beat; the turnout was small and the crowd seemed defeated, low-energy, a bit wilted and unenthused after spending hours in DC’s brutal summer humidity,” Moira Donegan noted in the Guardian at the time.

I really thought Trump’s police state parade would look fascist and scary. Instead it’s just humiliating. Are the soldiers marching like this as a low key fuck you to Trump? Compare it to any other military parade and you’ll see what I mean. pic.twitter.com/FfvVYf97JF

— Secular Talk (KyleKulinskiShow@bsky.social) (@KyleKulinski) June 15, 2025

Hopefully, Navy sailors are already rehearsing, as it seems like Trump is going to make the military branches keep doing these parades until one of them gets it right.

Army Parade ‘Disappointed’ Trump, So Navy Will Do One Too

Army Parade ‘Disappointed’ Trump, So Navy Will Do One Too