The United States Army is 250 years old, but the celebration has been degraded by Trump into a cult of personality. Trump is having himself honored with a military parade like a dictator. The parade is not about America’s glory—it’s about a looming threat to democracy.
By László Bartus
It is a coincidence that the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States Army falls on the same day as Donald Trump’s 79th birthday. But Trump deliberately blurs the line between the two events. He sends clear signals to his supporters that the military parade is celebrating his birthday, and he ascribes prophetic meaning to the fact that the army was also “born” on this date.
No previous American president—neither Obama, nor Biden, nor Bush—has ever used the military to celebrate himself. The military has always belonged to the nation, not as a tool for personal adoration. Several former military leaders have expressed concern over Trump’s attempt to turn the armed forces into a political weapon.
Trump’s redefinition of the military’s role is not merely symbolic. He is building a loyal command corps that will carry out any order—even unconstitutional ones. This parade may serve as a dress rehearsal. Trump’s generals may fall in love with power, force, and conquest. He is cultivating a spirit of expansion and war.
It’s no accident that Trump, seizing even the smallest opportunity, first sent the National Guard to Los Angeles, and then, to underscore his role as commander-in-chief and to reinforce the image of his military-based power, deployed Marines to suppress street protests. This is not only illegal and senseless, but also sends an unmistakable message: democracy is being replaced by military dictatorship.
It is alarming that military vehicles and tanks will be marching through the streets of Washington. This time it’s “just” for a parade—but the commander-in-chief is a man who poses an active threat of dictatorship. The idea of 60-ton M1 Abrams tanks and Paladin self-propelled howitzers thundering through the streets appeals to Trump—and fuels his appetite for battle.
Trump’s dictatorial impulses are evident even without the birthday parade. The military’s 250th anniversary has been in planning for two years, and until now, there had been no mention of a Russian- or North Korean-style parade. The original vision was a celebration befitting the homeland of democracy and the rule of law. It was Trump who added the military spectacle.
Even some Republican lawmakers have rejected the idea. Back when Trump didn’t have such a tight grip on the GOP—before he gained near-absolute control—the party resisted his push for a military parade during his first term. At the time, Republicans said military parades were the hallmark of dictators and a sign of weakness. America doesn’t need that.
The reality is reversed: it is not the President of the United States honoring the birth of the U.S. Army—rather, it is the Army that is being made to celebrate Donald Trump’s birthday. The military is paying tribute to him in a manner typical of authoritarian regimes. Trump is having himself celebrated like Kim Jong-un. This is the substance, message, and meaning of this military parade.
The far-right MAGA faithful, who eagerly await Trump’s dictatorship, view the shared birthday of Trump and the U.S. Army as a sign of divine intervention. Trump has already portrayed himself as both king and pope. At one point, he even seriously embraced the notion that he was the second coming of the Messiah—Jesus Christ himself—flanked by porn star Stormy Daniels.
Trump is now sacralizing his attraction to military force, threats, and physical violence through this date. His campaign has already revealed that he envisions a new role for the armed forces—one modeled after the loyal military leaders of Hitler, who obeyed every command without question.
Trump began by using unlawful and inhumane force against undocumented immigrants. Now, he threatens those who protest his actions using their constitutional rights. And it is only a matter of time before he turns his aggression toward political opponents, citizens committed to democratic norms, journalists, and the intellectual class. Violence and retribution are coming.
The military parade and its dictator-style birthday celebration foreshadow that Trump will not be satisfied with economic, financial, legal, or institutional pressure—such as the kind he has already waged against Harvard, elite universities, sexual minorities, the judiciary, and the press. He is preparing, consciously and deliberately, to use physical force and to deploy the military against the American people.
The parade will involve 6,600 soldiers reenacting different eras of U.S. military history. It will feature 150 tanks and military vehicles, along with more than 50 aircraft. The event will take place in Washington, around the National Mall—and morbidly enough, along Constitution Avenue. From this moment forward, the military is likely to play a central role in Trump’s dictatorship.
The fact that anyone who objects to a North Korean-style military parade on his birthday is met with threats of physical violence tells you everything you need to know about how Trump sees himself, how he abuses presidential power, and how he intends to subjugate the American people—how he plans to crush democracy and freedom.
Nationwide protests are being organized across the United States against this show of force masquerading as a birthday celebration. Trump has threatened that anyone demonstrating against the parade can expect a harsh, violent response. He never clarified that this would apply only to non-peaceful protests. Tensions and polarization are escalating in America—because of Trump’s violent rhetoric and actions.
More than 1,500 demonstrations are being planned across the country under the banner “No Kings.” However, no events are scheduled in Washington, D.C., in an effort to avoid direct confrontation. The parade is clearly a show of power, intimidation, and threat—on top of being a massive waste of resources at a time when the government is calling for austerity and cutting funding from research and education.
Are we ready for a president who celebrates himself with the nation’s army while silencing protestors? Is this truly the future America wants for itself?
