🌅 Veterans Oppose Trump’s Parade

SOURCE

Data for Progress

WHAT TO KNOW

• A new survey by Data for Progress and Common Defense found 70% of veterans say they’re opposed to Trump ordering active duty military to perform a parade in honor of his birthday, including 54% of Republicans and 71% of independents. Around 1,800 “No Kings” rallies are expected to take place nationwide in response to the parade.

WHY IT MATTERS

• The Trump administration says the June 14 parade is a celebration of the Army’s 250th anniversary, which happens to fall on the same day as the president’s 79th birthday. The Army also says it has no plans to honor Trump’s birthday, however, the president will feature prominently in the event. Historians say that while the U.S. has indeed held military parades in the past—most recently in 1991—they’ve all been held to celebrate the end of a war, not a military anniversary or holiday.

CONNECT THE DOTS

• On June 10, in a stunning disregard of the once sacrosanct line between military and politics, Trump delivered a nakedly partisan speech at Fort Bragg in North Carolina in which he attacked California Gov. Gavin Newsom, former President Joe Biden, and the press, earning the applause and approval of a crowd of soldiers handpicked by the Trump administration to ensure their political views aligned with the president’s. Military officials declined to say whether soldiers who displayed partisan cheers on television—a violation of longstanding Pentagon rules—will face any discipline.