The US military shot down President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration team’s bid to have tanks and missile launchers rolling down his parade route Friday, according to a report.
“They were legit thinking Red Square/North Korea-style parade,” an inauguration team source told the Huffington Post, referring to grandiose military parades in Moscow and Pyongyang that are often considered displays of bellicosity.
Trump has made showing off US military might part of his platform.
The military “may come marching down Pennsylvania Avenue,” Trump told the Washington Post this week. “That military may be flying over New York City and Washington, DC, for parades. I mean, we’re going to be showing our military.”
Several sources involved in his inaugural preparations told HuffPost that Trump wanted to ensure his first day as commander-in-chief was marked by an unusual display of military hardware.
But military officials balked because of the optics of having tanks and missile launchers rumbling down Pennsylvania Avenue — and because the tanks, which often weigh more than 100,000 pounds, would destroy the roads, the source said.
“I could absolutely see structural support being a reason [not to use tanks],” a Department of Defense official said. “DC is built on a swamp to begin with.”
Defense Department spokeswoman Valerie Henderson referred questions about the request to the Trump transition team.
Trump adviser Boris Epshteyn told the site that the inaugural committee worked closely with the military “to render appropriate honors” for Trump’s swearing-in.
But he directed questions about “specific aspects” of the military’s role back to the Defense Department.
Although Trump’s ideas for the ground displays didn’t fly, the Pentagon was on board with plans for five military flyovers — one for each branch of the armed services, spokesman Major Jamie Davis told HuffPost.
The Air Force plans to fly four fighter jets: an F-35, an F-16, an F-22 and an F-15E. The Navy will fly four F/A-18 combat jets. The Army will fly four UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. The Marines will fly four V-22 Ospreys. And the Coast Guard is looking at flying four MH-65 rescue helicopters, Davis said.
Stephen Kerrigan, who held top positions in President Obama’s first and second inaugural committees, said he was “shocked” to hear about the flyovers.
“It seems unnecessary and the optics don’t seem appropriate. … It’s very Red Square,” he told HuffPost.
Washington airspace is highly restricted and in the days after 9/11, planes flying over the city terrified people, Kerrigan said.
“If there are fighter jets flying over Washington, people are going to assume something bad is happening,” he said.
Obama did not use any military aircraft at either of his inaugurations, the Defense Department official said.
There also were no flyovers at President George W. Bush’s 2005 inauguration, but he did have a flyover during his 2001 opening ceremony two days before the inauguration.
President Ronald Reagan had considered including flyovers in his second inauguration in 1985, but one never materialized, the official said. Before that, the last president to include military flyovers during an inauguration was Harry Truman in 1949.
