Washington D.C. Leaders Say ‘Tanks But No Tanks’ To Donald Trump’s Fourth Of July Tank Parade
The Washington D.C. City Council attacked Donald Trump’s Fourth of July parade intentions on Monday with a tweet criticizing the president’s tank request. The official account for the city council sent out a tweet saying “tanks but no tanks” for the military display, citing concerns from the Department of Defense.
“We have said it before, and we’ll say it again: Tanks, but no tanks. (PS: The @DeptofDefense agrees, see highlighted area below),” the council tweeted.
The message included an image of a tank with a red line through it and a memo from the Office of the Secretary of Defense with a section on the use of tanks in the parade highlighted. That section says that the use of tanks isn’t recommended because it could harm local infrastructure.
Trump has been determined to include tanks in his Independence Day parade celebration, and yesterday he confirmed that they would be present, though he seems to be aware of the concern about damage to the roads in the city.
“We’re going to have some tanks stationed outside,” he said, according to NBC News. “You’ve got to be pretty careful with the tanks because the roads have a tendency not to like to carry heavy tanks. So we have to put them in certain areas.”
Details on exactly what will take place during the event haven’t been released yet, but it is certain that the tanks won’t parade down Pennsylvania Avenue so as to protect the streets and bridges. Instead, in addition to the tanks stationed outside, the president said that there will be “fighter jets” and “planes” flying overhead during the event.
Trump orders tanks for Independence Day parade https://t.co/sc1xX0ne2N
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) July 2, 2019
Trump also said that the parade will be featuring a multitude of “brand new” Sherman tanks, though as The Washington Times points out, those tanks haven’t been used in the military since the 1950s. The event will also feature the more current M1 Abrams tanks.
The city council aren’t the only ones concerned about the parade concept. Democrats have called on the president to tone down or change his plans. Some House Democrats wrote Trump a letter expressing their concern that the event, which is typically nonpartisan and not politically-motivated, might become a partisan political rally.
“We respectfully call on you to look for ways to complement, not conflict with, the Fourth of July celebration, such as considering an earlier time or alternative location for your remarks,” they wrote.
The event will be called the “Salute to America” and will feature fireworks and a speech from the president.
