The controversial Army parade through Washington, D.C., in June that coincided with Donald Trump’s birthday cost the service branch $30 million, it announced on Wednesday.
“I can confirm the total for the Army festival and parade cost approximately $30 million,” an Army spokesperson told The Hill.
The event, marking the 250th anniversary of the Army, was projected to cost between $25 million and $45 million, not accounting for the cost of police and street repairs tied to the event
In addition to cost overruns, some worried the event would damage Washington’s infrastructure, though an Army spokesperson said in late June the procession of military hardware had only been shown to damage a single curb, which the Army planned to repair.
The parade featured columns of marching troops, fireworks, and antique and modern military hardware like tanks rolling through Washington.
The parade may have exceeded expectations on cost and safety, but the event was a controversial one, nonetheless.
Critics argued that the sight of the military marching through the capital, at the same time the Trump administration was using the military to quell protests against his administration in Los Angeles, had authoritarian undertones.
“This is the kind of thing that Stalin would have done. This is the kind of thing North Korea does. It sickens me that we’re putting on this display just for one man’s ego,” Donna Stork, 73, of Hagerstown, Maryland, told The Independent as she watched the event.
“I have no problems with the Army having a celebration,” she added. “What I do have a problem with is the implication that this is more about Trump and military might than it is about the 250th anniversary of people who fought and died for our country.”
Others, including some veterans, praised the event.
“I retired from the Army 30 years ago and I came to honor all the people that came before me, all the friends that I’ve lost,” Van Beal, 70, who first joined the Army in 1978, told The Independent.
A June poll found that 60 percent of respondents thought the event was not a good use of government funds.
The parade took place the same day as “No Kings” protests against the administration, which drew between 4 and 5 million people, according to estimates.
The Trump administration claimed 250,000 people attended the parade, though outside estimates suggest fewer than 200,000 were in Washington for the event.
