Trump's Military Parade Postponed To 2019 Amid High Cost Concerns

The United States Defense Department on Thursday said they decided to postpone to next year the execution of President Donald Trump’s idea to conduct a Veterans Day military parade to honor America’s veterans and commemorate the centennial of World War I.

"The Department of Defense and White House have been planning a parade to honor America's military veterans and commemorate the centennial of World War I," Defense Department spokesman Col. Rob Manning said. "We originally targeted Nov. 10, 2018 for this event but have now agreed to explore opportunities in 2019."

The statement came hours after reports suggested the parade would cost up to $92 million.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis questioned the media reports late Thursday and said he did not see any such estimates anywhere. He added whoever spoke about the estimate to media was "probably smoking something that is legal in my state but not in most." He was referring to Washington where marijuana use is legal.

"I'm not dignifying that number ($92 million) with a reply. I would discount that, and anybody who said (that number), I'll almost guarantee you one thing: They probably said, 'I need to stay anonymous.' No kidding, because you look like an idiot. And No. 2, whoever wrote it needs to get better sources. I'll just leave it at that," he said.

The report about the new estimate was first published in CNBC, which quoted an unidentified Pentagon spokesperson. About $50 million of the new estimate will cover Pentagon costs for aircraft, equipment, personnel and other support for the November parade in Washington. The rest $42 million, mainly for security costs, will be from other agency partners that include Department of Homeland Security.

The parade was at first estimated to cost around $12 million to $30 million. Last month, the Trump administration cancelled joint military exercises with South Korea, which would have cost about $14 million after POTUS’ summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The president went on to say they made big savings by cancelling the exercise.

The new estimates of the parade, however, were more than three times that of the initial. This roused a lot of criticism against the decision.

"Until such time as we can celebrate victory in the War on Terrorism and bring our military home, we think the parade money would be better spent fully funding the Department of Veteran Affairs and giving our troops and their families the best care possible," Denise Rohan, the American Legion's national commander, said.

The planning for the parade "continues and final details are still being developed. Any cost estimates are pre-decisional," according to Lt. Col. Jamie Davis, a Pentagon spokesman.

The idea for the event was developed after Trump was impressed with France’s Bastille Day parade during his visit to the country in July 2017. He was an invited guest of the French President Emmanuel Macron.

"To a large extent, because of what I witnessed we may do something like that on July Fourth in Washington down Pennsylvania Avenue," he said at the time.

Military parades are usually held in U.S. to mark the end of a conflict. An example of it would be the parade which was conducted in 1991 — a National Victory Parade — in Washington by the then President George H.W. Bush to celebrate the end of the first Gulf War.