Trump's Military Parade Postponed After New Cost Estimate and Negative Comments from Vets Group
The Military Parade that nobody but the President seems to want has been postponed until 2019. Trump proposed the idea after viewing a similar event in Paris last year, but America's military leaders always seemed cool to the idea. It was too reminiscent of Russia's cold war military parades and seemed more appropriate for authoritarian governments attempting to cow their opposition.
The postponement came just hours after a report that defense department officials had estimated that the event would cost 92 million dollars, 80 million more than initially estimated. And yesterday, the American Legion, which represents the interests of veterans, issued a statement suggesting that the parade was not an appropriate use of the nation's resources. They said in part:
"The American Legion appreciates that our President wants to show in a dramatic fashion our nation's support for our troops,... "However, until such time as we can celebrate victory in the War on Terrorism and bring our military home, we think the parade money would be better spent fully funding the Department of Veteran Affairs and giving our troops and their families the best care possible."
Don't be surprised if the idea pops back up again as an election year event in 2020.
