How Can You Watch Donald Trump’s Military Parade? Inside the Details of the Event
Trump is turning his attention to celebrating the military — but many believe it’s just a disguise to celebrate his 79th birthday.
Published June 10 2025, 3:16 p.m. ET
Since taking office in January, Donald Trump has made a host of sweeping changes courtesy of executive orders that his administration has happily carried out. The latest involves a military parade that will coincide with his birthday on June 14.
Fresh off his ongoing feud with former bestie Elon Musk that has captured the internet, Trump is now turning his attention to celebrating the military — but many believe it’s just a disguise to celebrate his 79th birthday.
How can you watch Donald Trump’s military parade?
On June 14, the parade celebrating the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army will take place in Washington, D.C. and span six blocks, bisecting at the National Mall, according to The Tennessean. The event is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET. As of now, the administration has not announced an event celebrating the Navy, the Marines, or other members of the military.
Per the outlet, the event will be available to watch via livestream on all of the U.S. Army’s social media accounts, such as Instagram and Facebook. According to USA Today, the parade is said to cost $40 million in taxpayer dollars.
"I think it's gonna be better and bigger than any parade we've ever had in this country," Trump said in a video posted on June 6 to his Truth Social platform. "I don't think we've ever done one quite like this."
What has the White House said about the parade?
Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, Vince Haley, issued a statement about the parade ahead of the event.
“As one of the first events of the year-long celebration of our 250th anniversary, this commemorative parade will be a fitting tribute to the service, sacrifice, and selflessness of the brave men and women who have worn the uniform and devoted their lives to defending the greatest experiment in liberty known to man,” he said, per The Tennessean.
The parade is also set to include live performances and a fireworks display.
Many have criticized the parade as more vanity for Trump.
Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff didn’t mince words when sharing his thoughts about the event, posting the following message on X.
“Donald Trump is using your tax dollars to throw himself a $45 million birthday party,” he wrote. “A dictator-style military parade — all while slashing 80,000 jobs at the VA.”
According to the New Yorker, Trump reportedly got the idea for the military parade during a 2017 visit to France to attend the country’s Bastille Day celebration. He was determined to outdo France’s parade for one of his own, but members of his staff at the time advised against it.
Gen. Paul Selva reportedly told Trump that celebratory military parades are “what dictators do,” per the outlet. Trump’s actions regarding the parade have been compared to the likes of other controversial world leaders, such as Russia's Vladimir Putin, North Korea's Kim Jong Un, and Xi Jinping of China.