Trump Military Parade to Cost $80 Million More Than Previously Expected

Editor’s note: After this article was posted, the federal government announced that the proposed parade had been postponed until 2019. To read an Associated Press article about that development, click here.

In July, months after Donald Trump asked the Pentagon to assemble a grand military parade in Washington, D.C., for Veterans Day, the Department of Defense predicted it would cost approximately $12 million. On Thursday, the department issued a new estimate—this one exceeding the previous figure by a cool $80 million.

“The $92 million cost estimate includes security, transportation of parade assets, aircraft, as well as temporary duty for troops,” reveals CNBC’s Amanda Macias, citing an unnamed official. “The [DOD] also noted that while the size and scope of the military parade can still shift, the plans currently include [such armored vehicles as] Bradleys, Strykers and M113s.”

In case all that is somehow insufficient, the parade also will feature “helicopter, fighter jet and transport aircraft,” along with “historical military plane flyovers.”

Reports that the president would not have tanks rolling through the streets of the nation’s capital as requested appear to have been premature. As many as eight M1 Abrams are expected for the day’s festivities, despite initial concerns that they could tear up the city’s streets. (Experts now believe that will not happen because of the vehicles’ distributed weight and track pads.)

Trump began pining for a military parade after celebrating Bastille Day in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron. There, the two memorably took in a Daft Punk medley by the army’s marching band.

“It was a tremendous day, and to a large extent because of what I witnessed, we may do something like that on July 4 in Washington down Pennsylvania Avenue,” Trump said in September. “We’re going to have to try to top it, but we have a lot of planes going over and a lot of military might, and it was really a beautiful thing to see, and representatives from different wars and different uniforms [sic].”

According to CNBC, the U.S. has not held a major military parade since 1991, following the Persian Gulf War. The cost of that ceremony was $8 million, a substantial portion of which was paid with private donations.