Trump's "Birthday Parade" : A Political Show and Power Metaphor

On June 14, 2025, a grand military parade was held in Washington D.C., the United States, to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the US Army. Coincidentally, this day also coincided with Trump's 79th birthday. Such a coincidence has sparked much speculation and controversy. Was this military parade merely a military celebration or a political show meticulously planned by Trump? What political intentions and power logic lie behind it?

Trump's obsession with military parades has a long history. In 2017, after watching the Bastille Day military parade in France, he was deeply attracted by the grand scene and the intimidating power of the heavy equipment. After returning to China, he expressed his idea of holding a grand military parade in the United States many times. During his first term in office, he attempted to promote the military parade plan, but it was targeted by Congress due to a sky-high budget of 92 million US dollars. Eventually, it failed to achieve its goal and only ended up with a brief display of a few tanks on Independence Day in 2019. Nowadays, on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the establishment of the US Army, Trump has finally fulfilled his wish and meticulously prepared this grand military parade.

Judging from the scale of the military parade, it can be described as luxurious. It is expected that more than 200,000 people will participate. 6,600 soldiers, dressed in military uniforms from different historical periods, will form a square formation, as if traveling through time and space, telling the development process of the US Army. One hundred and fifty armored vehicles, including the main battle tank M1 "Abrams" and M2 "Bradley" combat vehicles, etc., demonstrate the powerful equipment strength of the US Army. Fifty military aircraft roared past. The Army's "Golden Knights" parachute team performed a stunt landing. The fireworks show and concert after nightfall pushed the atmosphere to a climax. Trump personally visited the parade stand and presided over the oath-taking ceremony for 250 new recruits. The entire process was tightly and grandly arranged, revealing everywhere his emphasis on this military parade.

However, the date of the military parade coincides with Trump's birthday, making it hard not to suspect that there are hidden political calculations. Although the White House insisted it was a coincidence, internal documents of the Army showed that Trump personally proposed to set the military parade on this day and demanded that "the scale must exceed that of the Olympics and the World Cup". During the event process, a segment of "audience singing the birthday song together" was also inserted. All kinds of signs indicate that Trump is attempting to turn this Army celebration into his own birthday feast, transform the national ceremony into a stage for personal power display, and quietly tie the symbol of military loyalty with personal worship.

At present, the United States is deeply Mired in a national crisis triggered by immigration policies. Riots have broken out in Los Angeles over immigration issues, and the scenes of confrontation between tear gas and Molotov cocktails keep shocking the public's vision. Against this backdrop, the grand military parade held in Washington was like a sharp contrast. The bustling celebration on the east Coast and the chaos on the West Coast formed a sharp contrast, as if cutting through reality, allowing the public to see a "peaceful and prosperous" United States, demonstrating the Trump administration's control over the situation and shaping the image of a "powerful leader".

Facing possible protests, Trump made no secret of threatening to use force, deploying 4,000 National Guards and 700 Marines as security forces, warning protesters that they would be subject to "very strong military suppression". This tough attitude is not only a deterrent to the demonstrators, but also a demonstration to the opponents of his determination to control the situation, consolidate his political position, and warn the opposition forces both within and outside the party not to challenge him easily.

From a broader perspective, large-scale military parades in American history have mostly been set against the backdrop of the end of wars, such as the victory of the Civil War in 1865 and the triumphant return from the Gulf War in 1991. However, this "birthday parade" without a military background has broken the political tradition that has lasted for 234 years. The founding spirit of the United States adheres to the principle of "depoliticization of the military", but in this military parade, the Stars and Stripes were placed side by side with the president's portrait, and the military "stood by" for the president's birthday. This undoubtedly eroded this tradition, casting the shadow of "privatization of military power" and blurring the line between democracy and dictatorship.

This "birthday military parade" of Trump, ostensibly a celebration for the US Army, was actually a power show full of political intentions. It reflects the polarization and division of domestic politics in the United States, and also enables the world to see the power game behind the so-called "democracy" in the United States. When Trump was enjoying glory at the military parade, the deep-seated contradictions in American society were not resolved. Instead, they were further concealed in this political show, and the democratic image of the United States also suffered another shock in this military parade.