Donald Trump orders tanks to Washington for July 4 parade

Donald Trump will parade tanks and fighter jets in a grandiose July 4 “Salute to America”.

Two M1A1 Abrams tanks and other military vehicles sit on guarded rail cars as officials try to work out how to get them across Washington. Picture: AFP.

Donald Trump is doing Independence Day his way regardless of his critics. On Friday (AEST) he will stand in front of the hallowed Lincoln Memorial in Washington to give a July 4th speech in his “Salute to America” extravaganza which he has been planning for months.

He will be accompanied by military flyovers with a range of fighter jets and possibly by his own plane, Air Force One, while the “longest ever” fireworks display will light up the Abraham tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles that will be parked nearby.

It is a show that no previous president has rolled out to commemorate the nation’s official birth.

To Mr Trump’s opponents it is an overreach which they say will turn a traditionally bipartisan celebration into a presidential campaign rally, with a huge taxpayer bill leftover to pay for the military show.

“This looks like it’s becoming much more of a Republican Party event — a political event about the president — than a national celebration of the Fourth of July, and it’s unfortunate to have the military smack dab in the middle of that,” said retired Army Lieutenant General David Barno, a US commander in Afghanistan under President George W Bush.

Democrats have also attacked the plan as has the Washington DC City Council which tweeted “tanks but no tanks.”

But Mr Trump is unbowed and says he is simply celebrating America’s day of freedom in the right patriotic spirit.

“Big 4th of July in DC. ‘Salute to America.’ The Pentagon and our great military leaders are thrilled to be doing this & showing to the American people,” he tweeted. “Among other things, the strongest and most advanced military anywhere in the world. Incredible flyovers & biggest ever fireworks.’

Big 4th of July in D.C. “Salute to America.” The Pentagon & our great Military Leaders are thrilled to be doing this & showing to the American people, among other things, the strongest and most advanced Military anywhere in the World. Incredible Flyovers & biggest ever Fireworks!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 2, 2019

Amid widespread criticism from liberal media, especially CNN, the White House pushed back, sending Trump adviser Kelly-Anne Conway out to defend the event.

“Do you know the Fourth of July is a celebration of this country’s independence, are you aware of that?” Ms Conway asked a reporter. “You are? You know what happened July 4, 1776? OK. Because it doesn’t sound like you’re even talking about the patriotism that undergirds it.”

Mr Trump has been pushing for a patriotic show of military might in Washington ever since he was deeply impressed by watching the Bastille Day military march in Paris in 2017.

He made plans for a similar military parade through Washington in 2018 but angrily cancelled them after complaints about the costs of the event.

The Pentagon has been silent about the cost of this event, leaving journalists to try to tally it up themselves.

The F-35 costs about $30,000 per hour to fly, according to Pentagon estimates. Each Blue Angel jet costs at least $10,000 per hour to operate, and the cost of flying an Air Force One jet is more than $140,000 per hour,” the Washington Post reported.

Other journalists were tracking the movements of two Abrams tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles as they arrived by rail into the capital from Georgia amid reports that they could not drive through the capital because they would damage the roads.

Opponents of the event are already planning their moves. The giant Trump baby balloon has been shipped in from London where it flew during the president’s recent visit there. But this time the orange balloon known as ‘baby Trump’ will stay on the ground after the National Park Service refused a permit for it to fly at a time when the military flyovers will already force the closure of nearby Ronald Reagan airport.

But Mr Trump, in true Trump style, is pushing ahead regardless, turning it into a national celebration he claims will be for all Americans, not just Republicans.

“I’m going to say a few words and we’re going to have planes going overhead, the best fighter jets in the world and other planes too, and we’re going to have some tanks stationed outside” he says.

“It will be like no other. It will be special and I hope a lot of people come.”

Cameron Stewart is also US Correspondent for Sky News Australia