U.S. President Donald Trump‘s extravagant 4th of July plans are garnering attention — and raising several questions.
The president has been tweeting about the plans, and has promised “a show of a lifetime.”
What the celebrations will include
Trump is marshalling tanks, bombers and other machinery of war for this year’s Independence Day celebration.
WATCH: Tanks move into place for Trump’s July 4th celebration
The annual 4th of July parade will happen in the morning, as it usually does.
But it will be followed by extravagant celebrations, and an address from Trump from the Lincoln Memorial at 6:30 p.m. local time. The White House has ordered for two Bradley fighting vehicles to be placed where he will deliver the speech.
A ticket-only area in front of the Lincoln Memorial is being set aside for VIPs, including members of Trump’s family, friends and members of the military, according to the White House.
Two 60-ton Army Abrams battle tanks were also sent to Washington by rail to be positioned on or near the National Mall.
The evening’s events will include military flyovers and a concert.
It will conclude with a fireworks show, which is expected to last about 40 minutes.
Questions about money and political agendas
All this has raised questions over the cost of the event.
Trump said the event’s cost will be “very little compared to what it is worth,” but has not provided details. Politicians at the local council of D.C. have said they expect the federal government to cover costs, and have spoken out against the use of tanks.
Under White House direction, the Pentagon was scrambling to arrange for an Air Force B-2 stealth bomber and other warplanes to conduct flyovers of the celebration on the National Mall. There will be Navy F-35 and F-18 fighter jets, the Navy Blue Angels aerial acrobatics team, Army and Coast Guard helicopters and Marine V-22 Ospreys.
The Pentagon said it had made no overall estimate of the cost of the military’s participation. The Air Force said it costs $122,311 an hour to fly a B-2 bomber, which is making the trip from its home at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri and back. Officials said this will be considered a training event, with the cost already budgeted. They said the per-hour flying cost of the F-22 fighter is $65,128.
Meanwhile, The Washington Post reported that the National Park Service will have to spend nearly $2.5 million on the celebrations.
Some lawmakers have raised concerns that taxpayers will end up paying for the celebrations — which some said seems like a partisan rally.
WATCH: Tanks, military vehicles arrive in DC ahead of Trump’s 4th of July celebrations
Democratic Rep. Betty McCollum said that Trump is “hijacking the celebration and twisting it into a taxpayer-funded, partisan political rally.”
In a statement, McCollum also slammed Trump for not informing the appropriate Congress committee of the costs.
“This administration needs to be reminded that the power of the purse belongs to Congress,” the statement read.
Loren Dejonge Schulman, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security and an Obama-era White House official, said the event is “raw politicization.”
The Trump administration has said the event will be nonpolitical, and Trump’s speech will focus on honouring the military.
However, senior presidential adviser Kellyanne Conway said the speech will also highlight “the success of this administration in opening up so many jobs for individuals, what we’ve done for veterans.”
She added, according to CBS News, that the overall theme will be “how wonderful this country is.”
Role of the military
The plans have also brought into question the use of the military in parades. The U.S. traditionally has not embraced showy exhibitions of raw military power as a claim of international prestige and influence.
While military bands, flyovers and honour guards are often present at big sporting events, muscular military displays are more common in authoritarian regimes like China and North Korea — not necessarily in democratic countries.
Members of the U.S. military are generally not allowed to participate in political events or align with a political campaign.
Protesters have plans, too
Trump’s plans for the celebration will be met with some protests, namely by activists from advocacy group Code Pink.
The group is planning on flying a baby Trump blimp, similar to ones from protests the president encountered in London, U.K.
The activists plan to assemble in front of the Lincoln Memorial from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. to hold an “anti-imperialist” protest, according to the group’s website.
On Wednesday, a day before the actual event, members of the group were on location.
One member, 72-year-old Ann Wright who is also a retired U.S. army colonel, told Global News she finds the event “totally inappropriate.”
“The presidents do not get involved in these sorts of things. It’s for the American people and in the past, they’ve tried to keep it out of the political realm,” she said.
“No matter who’s in power, you have fireworks, you have this and that, but you don’t hijack it for the Democrats or the Republicans.
— With files from Global News reporter Jackson Proskow, The Associated Press
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