Patriotism, protests and politics: Inside the Army’s 250th birthday parade 

They promised it would be dystopian: a strongman’s show of dictatorship pulled from the playbook of North Korea or Nazi Germany as tanks and military aircraft made their way through the heart of America’s capital city.

But standing in the front rows of Saturday’s military parade, I saw something entirely different: veterans, families waving flags, and a sea of red, white, and blue colors as thousands stood to salute the flag and sang the “Star-Spangled Banner.” Children ate ice cream cones from a row of food trucks and families relaxed on picnic blankets on the sidelines, as a cheering crowd took endless pictures of the armored vehicles and soldiers dressed up in military uniforms from every era of American history.

Certainly, aspects of the U.S. Army’s 250th birthday parade in Washington, D.C., were undoubtedly Trumpian. There was no shortage of MAGA hats, and segments of the crowd erupted into chants of “We love Trump” and sang “Happy Birthday” to the president – as both his birthday and Flag Day coincided with the event.

But it wasn’t the totalitarian spectacle many had been fearmongering about. It was festive, patriotic, and even educational as a narrator provided in-depth descriptions of various chapters of the Army’s history. The parade felt more like a Fourth of July celebration than a scene out of The Handmaid’s Tale.

As it became clear on Saturday that America hadn’t been taken over by Kim Jong Un, the liberal narrative online began to quietly shift. Democratic observers such as Harry Sisson were quick to say on X that the “parade was empty” and “nobody showed up.” One Guardian opinion noted the “turnout was small” and The New Yorker called the crowds “sparse.” A “derpy, dull parade overshadowed by massive nationwide protests” is how one USA Today opinion piece described it. 

Of course, many of the same voices now claiming the parade was a pathetic flop are the very ones who spent days lying to the public and issuing doomsday predictions. They are the same voices that used an event to celebrate the Army’s 250th birthday to fuel national “No Kings” protests. 

Suddenly, the parade wasn’t an authoritarian spectacle: it was just painted as a failure. When Marco Rubio’s yawn is making news, it’s hard to believe we’re in the middle of a fascist coup. 

However, attempts to paint the parade as empty not only miss the mark; they are outright lies.  

While the Mall lawns appeared relatively bare earlier in the afternoon, as many attendees were still filtering in, by the start of the event much of the crowd was standing shoulder to shoulder. It is difficult to describe – and even harder to capture on a phone camera – just how packed the crowd was, as it spanned over an enormous area.

The White House has said that more than 250,000 people attended the parade – and while I wasn’t doing a head count myself, I didn’t need a clicker to know we were packed in like sardines. It took nearly an hour to even exit the event, navigating hordes of people as the crowd backed up to the Washington Monument. Love Trump or hate him, this was no ghost town.  

While Trump’s team has touted the success of the parade, Saturday’s military parade wasn’t without its share of “No Kings” protesters – who showed up despite organizers deliberately attempting to keep protests in other cities to take focus away from D.C.  

These protesters stood outside of the area where military parade-goers were exiting, screaming at soldiers who walked by. In stark contrast to the family-filled parade, many of the protesters’ signs were too vulgar to repeat here – and certainly disappointing to see displayed around the many children who were out in public. Whatever one’s opinion is of the protests, seeing “F*** Trump” signs at the National Mall as children in flag shirts and strollers pass by is undeniably jarring.

I attended the parade as a journalist. I wasn’t cheering, adorned in MAGA merchandise, or joining in with the “No Kings” protesters. But what I observed bore little resemblance to the legacy media’s distorted descriptions of the event – before, during, or after. This treatment of the military parade is more than an honest mistake – it is another indictment of political observers who are willing to stoke partisan fears and pump up a predetermined narrative about Trump despite reality.  

Featured image: @WhiteHouse (X)