There are 3 things to know from the military parade and the No Kings protests

The military parade parade on Saturday marked the 50th anniversary of the First Congressional Reionization Day: A Palestinian attack by a militarized autocrat

As the Trump administration geared up for the parade filled with tanks and armored personnel carriers rolling through the nation’s capital, people in dozens of cities across the country protested the event as a politicization of the armed forces by a would-be autocrat.

WASHINGTON, D.C., and ANNAPOLIS, Md. — There are events in America that become a Rorschach test, bringing out political and cultural divisions in the country. Saturday’s military parade, which happened on President Trump’s birthday, was that kind of moment.

It featured dozens of armored tanks and artillery vehicles, such as HIMARS, army aircraft, including Black Hawk helicopters and Apaches, and more than 6,000 uniformed troops. The idea was to walk viewers through the history of American military conflict, with some historical uniforms and vehicles being used.

Mike Davis, a 30-year Army serviceman who was at the parade as a spectator, said he welcomed the flashy affair — that the military had been overdue for a big bash.

He supports people’s rights to speak out, but thinks protests against the event made it a pall on what should have been a celebration.

“The Army keeps us free, we make us strong,” Democrat Gavin Newsom of California criticized Trump during the Bastille Day parade

The Army expects the weekend festivities to cost between $25 million and $45 million. That includes planned road repairs due to possible damage from tanks rolling on city streets.

Trump wanted to hold the parade during his first term, but it was scrapped because it was deemed too expensive. He was inspired by attending the annual Bastille Day parade in France. That parade celebrates French mobs taking over the Bastille state prison in 1789.

“The Army keeps us free, you make us strong, and tonight you’ve made all Americans very proud,” he said. Other countries celebrate their victories. It’s about time America did too. That’s what we’re doing tonight.”

Democratic lawmakers called the showcase self-indulgent and a misuse of public funds when the parade was announced.

“To use the military in this way when Donald Trump is cutting veterans’ benefits to aggrandize himself, to communicate to the country his control over the military is just another shameful act by this administration,” said Democrats.

“It’s a vulgar display,” Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California said during a news conference on Friday. It is the same type of thing you see with dictators around the world that are weak.

Protests of the No Kings Planned Wall-Building Event in Philadelphia, Tentative Crime and Interaction Against a White House

More than 5 million people were estimated to have participated in the planned protests. A man was arrested after intentionally driving his car into a crowd of people at the end of a protest. One person was hit, but no one was hurt, police said.

Police said that thousands of people marched peacefully through Philadelphia, where the main event was held. Philadelphia was chosen as the hub, because “there’s an indelible link between Philadelphia and between the freedoms and the ideals that the country was founded upon,” said Joel Payne, spokesperson for MoveOn, one of the dozens of groups behind the No Kings protests.

Ezra Levin, co-founder and co-executive director of the nonprofit Indivisible, another No Kings coordinator, said the atmosphere at the event was joyful.

Thousands were at a Dallas protest, one of more than 60 planned in Texas, KERA reported. Alaska Public Media reported that the only king that they wanted was king salmon.

Shahera Hyatt made signs that read “ICE, you’re fired” and “From Palestine to Mexico, border walls have to go” at her local event.

“It does feel like there’s a vendetta against people who are exercising their rights to speak up against this administration,” said protester Ali Schoenberger of Sacramento. “So I feel like it’s important to protect my fellow protestors today and not expose them or even have it on my phone.”

“I am completely terrified of what’s going on in our country,” said protester Margo Ross of Watsonville, Calif. “I believe from the beginning it’s been a coup and a fascist overthrow, and I keep thinking, ‘Well, it can’t get worse.’ It gets worse and worse.

The U.S. Capitol Police arrested 60 protesters on Friday after some of them ran toward the steps of the Rotunda. They say 60 people will be accused of crossing a police line. Additional charges include assault on a police officer and resisting arrest. The groups behind the protests did not respond to requests for comment.

Military parade and no-kings-protests: a split-screen of a divided America: Why president Donald Trump did not invade the United States

The staging seemed to enhance the muscular image Trump likes to project. A pair of tanks sat in front of the grandstand from which the president watched. Trump received a flag, usually given to the family of fallen soldiers, after his speech.

The military event in the nation’s capital resembled a similar event to an army recruiting video. People are on the grass in the shadow of a monument. Amid the strains of Van Halen over the loudspeakers, tank drivers pumped their fists and revved their engines as they drove past cheering crowds down Constitution Avenue. Along the way, the announcer thanked the various corporate sponsors, including Lockheed Martin and Palantir, the data-mining firm that has a $30 million contract to help Immigration and Customs and Enforcement track migrants in the U.S.

Many people who attended the Army event wore flag t-shirts, hats and shorts. The crowd was diverse and included military families whose members had immigrated to the U.S. from around the world, including Ecuador, El Salvador and Vietnam.

We need to own the flag. “We’re not patriots, no one will tell us,” said Donna Edwards, the president of the Maryland & DC FLc-CIO, during her address to the crowd. We hate America, so no one should say that. We are fighting for America.

Trump said they hate the country while attacking his critics and journalists. Anticipating such an attack, speakers in Annapolis said protest is an act of patriotism, especially when the target is a president they say is trampling America’s system of checks and balances.

They said that Washington gave up military power in order to help Trump accrue more by holding the parade on the National Mall.

Source: Military parade and No Kings protests: a split-screen of a divided America

Military parade and no kings protests: a split-screen of a divided America (McKay)

“I retire from the great theater of action and bidding an affectionate farewell to this august body under whose orders I have so long acted, I hereby offer my commission and leave all the employments of public life,” Goldberg said, channeling Washington as the crowd broke into applause.

“It’s outrageous. We’re not in Russia, North Korea, or China. That’s the thing they do. The D.C. parade and surrounding events is estimated to cost as much as 45 million dollars.

Speakers in Annapolis included labor union representatives, the leader of an immigrant advocacy group and a George Washington reenactor who wore a white wig and a blue waistcoat. Randy Goldberg, a 75-year-old retired nurse, played America’s first president and delivered the speech Washington gave when he relinquished his military command there in 1783.

The people of Maryland gathered in front of the state house around noon. Some people who came had signs with the slogans “RESISTING THE CROWN, NOT A SUCKER OR a LOSER,” and “I’M A VETERAN, NOT A LOSER,” in reference to Trump’s comments about war dead.

The 33 mile journey from one protest in Annapolis to another in a parade in front of the White House was like travelling between two different countries.

Source: Military parade and No Kings protests: a split-screen of a divided America

Military parade and no-kings protests: a split-screen of a divided America (with an introduction by Dennis Connelly)

“I think they’ve got this whole cloud over their head that Trump’s this dictator when he’s acting completely [within] the law,” said Dennis Connelly, 19, who wore baggy American flag pants and had flown in from Knoxville, Tenn., for the event.

The president was angry with being described as a king ahead of the parade. Trump said before the parade that he did not feel like a king. I have to go through hell in order to get things approved.

Connelly says he hopes to enlist in the Marines and serve in counterintelligence. While No Kings protesters criticized Trump for busting norms, Connelly sees that as a good thing.

“He’s powerful, and he’s kind of like those high school bullies. … “That’s wonderful, I think that,” said Connelly. We need a president who is willing to push boundaries.

“I think he’s assuming that these companies are willing to pay them and not going to manipulate the public … and add that on to [the] consumer price,” said Connelly, who took his first airplane flight ever to come here.

Source: Military parade and No Kings protests: a split-screen of a divided America

The Trump is a Tyrant: A Partially Split-Screen Day in America’s History of Protests and Reconciliation

There were signs that said “Trump is a Tyrant.” People at the parade went to the Metro trains after seeing the protesters.

America’s split-screen day turned into a picture of a divided nation, with many unable or unwilling to speak to one another.