Top White House and Pentagon officials confirm that the president wants a military parade in Washington, and that plans are being drawn up.As White House correspondent Yamiche Alcindor reports,those marching orders from Mr. Trump have some raising their eyebrows, while others are rising to salute.It was a show of military might that left a lasting impression.President Trump was the guest of honor at France's Bastille Day parade last July.It was still on his mind two months later, when he saw French President Emanuel Macron at the U.N. General Assembly.It was one of the greatest parades I have ever seen.We may do something like that on July 4 in Washington down Pennsylvania Avenue.In January, Mr. Trump gave marching orders to do just that.It happened at a meeting with Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and General Joseph Dunford, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.Last night, The Washington Post's Greg Jaffe reported on what the president said about a parade.He made no secret of the fact that he wanted one. When you say that in front of a room of generals,I think they tend to take it as an order, and I think that's what happened there.Now the Pentagon confirms it has begun working on the details.The last large-scale military parade in Washington was in 1991.President George H.W. Bush ordered that one to celebrate the end of the Gulf War.It featured almost 9,000 troops and attracted 200,000 bystanders.
