Should Trump ask for a Grand Military Parade?

According to a new report from The Washington Post Donald Trump has asked for a grand military parade in meetings behind closed doors.

WaPo:

President Trump’s vision of soldiers marching and tanks rolling down the boulevards of Washington is moving closer to reality in the Pentagon and White House, where officials say they have begun to plan a grand military parade later this year showcasing the might of America’s armed forces.

Trump has long mused publicly and privately about wanting such a parade, but a Jan. 18 meeting between Trump and top generals in the Pentagon’s tank — a room reserved for top-secret discussions — marked a tipping point, according to two officials briefed on the planning.

Surrounded by the military’s highest-ranking officials, including Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., Trump’s seemingly abstract desire for a parade was suddenly heard as a presidential directive, the officials said.

“The marching orders were: I want a parade like the one in France,” said a military official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the planning discussions are supposed to remain confidential. “This is being worked at the highest levels of the military.”

Let’s look at the Pros and Cons of this.

Pros:

This would be quite the event. American Patriotism has taken a hit due to the lefts constant attack on it and a military parade will strengthen that. Imagine watching as our military showcased what makes them the best in the world. This event could stoke a sense of pride in America that is badly needed. Trump has talked about this.

The inspiration for Trump’s push is last year’s Bastille Day celebration in Paris, which the president attended as a guest of French President Emmanuel Macron. Trump was awestruck by the tableau of uniformed French troops marching down Avenue des Champs-Elysees with military tanks, armored vehicles, gun trucks and carriers — complete with fighter jets flying over the Arc de Triomphe and painting the sky with streaks of blue, white and red smoke for the colors of the French flag.

Aboard Air Force One en route home from Paris in July, aides said Trump told them that he was dazzled by the French display and that he wanted one at home.

It was still on his mind two months later when he met with Macron on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

“It was one of the greatest parades I’ve ever seen,” Trump told reporters. “It was two hours on the button, and it was military might, and I think a tremendous thing for France and for the spirit of France.”

Cons:

The biggest Con would have to be the cost. According to The Washington Post article, this would cost millions to put on.

Shows of military strength are not typical in the United States — and they don’t come cheap. The cost of shipping Abrams tanks and high-tech hardware to Washington could run in the millions, and military officials said it was unclear how they would pay for it.

A White House official familiar with the planning described the discussions as “brainstorming” and said nothing was settled. “Right now, there’s really no meat on the bones,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions.

Here was the cost of the 1991 parade:

The last major military parade held in Washington was in 1991 to mark victory in Operation Desert Storm, the first Persian Gulf War. It reportedly cost about $8 million and involved thousands of troops who fought in the war, nearly a dozen bands, a fleet of missiles, tanks and the flyover of more than 100 aircraft.

The 1991 parade was paid for with about $3 million in U.S. government funds and the remainder from private donations.

The final Con would have to be the left’s reaction to this. If Trump decides to put on this show of force you know that they will tie him to some sort of Dictator automatically.

I would love to see this put on for our military. Imagine our entire country coming together in support of our military. It would invoke a sense of Patriotism that we haven’t felt on a wide scale in this country for quite some time.