Trump salutes troops; car drives into No Kings protesters
US President Donald Trump is making a show of military strength with a huge parade, as No Kings protests across the US turn violent. See photos.
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US President Donald Trump revelled in a long dreamt-of military parade on his 79th birthday, as demonstrators across the country branded him a dictator in the biggest protests since his return to power.
Mr Trump stood and saluted as tanks rumbled past, aircraft roared overhead and nearly 7,000 troops marched through Washington at an event officially marking the 250th anniversary of the US Army — at a cost of up to A$70 million.
It came as “No Kings” protests turned violent across the US, with a man intentionally driving an SUV into a crowd of demonstrators in Culpepper, Virginia.
The man, identified by authorities as Joseph R Checklick Jr, was arrested and charged with reckless driving, Fox News reports.
In downtown LA, a peaceful protest turned chaotic when a police on horseback charged the crowd, striking them with wood rods and batons. Officers then fired teargas, as the crowd fleed.
Ahead of the military event, Mr Trump said the Washington parade would be “like no other” — but promised to use “very big force” if protesters attempt to disrupt the spectacle.
“This is a big day for America!!!” Mr Trump said on his Truth Social platform of the event,
the largest such parade in the United States in decades.
At the same time, protests by the so-called “No Kings” movement took place across the United States against what organisers say is a Trump personality cult.
Protests took place in New York, Houston, Philadelphia, Seattle, Atlanta and Mr Trump’s second home in Palm Beach, Florida. A small group of demonstrators even gathered in Paris.
Organisers said the rallies would be the largest since Mr Trump returned to office in January, adding that they were “rejecting authoritarianism, billionaire-first politics, and the militarisation of our democracy.”
Thousands more demonstrators are expected to turn out in Los Angeles to protest against Mr Trump’s deployment of troops in America’s second-largest city following clashes sparked by immigration raids.
Organisers said they specifically left Washington off the list of cities holding rallies so as to draw attention away from the capital city — but also possibly to avoid any conflict.
The military parade is the biggest in Washington since the end of the Gulf War in 1991 and has led to accusations by Mr Trump’s opponents that he is behaving like a king..
Soldiers will wear uniforms dating back through US history to its independence from Britain as they march past landmarks including the Washington Monument to end up at the White House.
The parade is meant to end with the army’s Golden Knights parachute team dropping in to present Mr Trump with a US flag — on Flag Day, which marks the adoption of the Stars and Stripes.
Mr Trump has been obsessed with having a parade since his first term as president when he attended France’s annual Bastille Day parade in Paris at the invitation of President Emmanuel Macron.
Critics have accused Mr Trump of acting like autocrats in Moscow or Pyongyang. California’s Governor Gavin Newsom, who slammed Trump for sending National Guard troops into Los Angeles without his consent, called it a “vulgar display of weakness.”
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