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Trump told Macron he loved the Bastille Day parade in France
This isn't the first time he's mentioned parades
President Donald Trump has always loved a good parade.
While meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City on Monday, he praised Macron for his Bastille Day parade, which he saw during a summer visit.
“I do want to say that I was your guest at Bastille Day,” Trump said, according to a transcript of remarks from the White House. “It was one of the greatest parades I’ve ever seen. It was two hours on the button, and it was military might, and I think a tremendous thing for France and for the spirit of France.”
He told Macron he wants to have a similar parade in the United States to show off his country’s military force.
“We’re going to have to try and top it,” Trump told Macron. “But I came back (from France), and one of my early calls were, I think we’re going to have to start looking at that ourselves. So we’re actually thinking about Fourth of July, Pennsylvania Avenue, having a really great parade to show our military strength.”
Such a show of military pageantry, however, is often associated with militaristic regimes trying to prove their might and would be uncommon in the US, which has shied away from such large-scale displays in recent decades.
Trump’s interest in parades isn’t new. He told The Washington Post in January, before his inauguration, that he wanted to show the military marching down Pennsylvania Avenue.
“That military may come marching down Pennsylvania Avenue. That military may be flying over New York City and Washington, DC, for parades. I mean, we’re going to be showing our military,” he said.
And then he told The New York Times months later that Macron’s Bastille Day parade was “one of the most beautiful parades I have ever seen,” adding: “We should do one one day down Pennsylvania Ave.”
“I’ve always thought of that,” he said. “I’ve thought of it long before.”
During his meeting with Macron on Monday, he said he’s been looking into hosting a parade in the US again.
“You know, we’re spending this year $700 billion – more than we’ve ever spent on the military – which is a good thing for you because we’re friends,” he told Macron. ” And I think we’re looking forward to doing (a parade).”
Trump added he spoke with his chief of staff John Kelly about the matter.
“We’ll see if we can do it this year,” he said. “But we certainly will be beginning to do that.”