President Donald Trump‘s Fourth of July celebration ruffled feathers and pleased fans of the president thanks to planes, tanks, and Trump himself speaking from the teleprompter.
There were many complaints, some weather issues, and a few scuffles around the area ahead of the event. Still, it went on and things came together in the end. Just don’t think that people are going to be less upset by the display.
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The price tag for the event had people grabbing their calculators and venting on social media. Before the event, it was reported that the National Park Service lost $2.5 million to fund the celebration. That is on top of the costs from the military to bring in tanks, aircraft, and personnel. There is also the cost for other government employees and city staff forced to work on the holiday in order to make the event happen.
But people online found more costs to be angry at, with each plane flying over spitting out dollar signs taken from tax payer’s pockets according to some vocal critics online.
“[Every] military jet flyover today will cost north of $500K in taxpayer money,” a user wrote on social media. “Tack on this vile warmongering tank display in DC and we’re pretty close to covering the $55m it would cost to completely clean the water system in Flint.”
The Washington Post confirmed that the combined hourly rate was at least $560,000, while Pentagon officials referred most questions directly to the White House because Trump wanted the event contents to be a surprise for those in attendance.
A previous report in 2018 for a proposed military parade in DC rose to $92 million before it was canceled. It is unknown what the cost of Thursday’s display could be and those figures likely won’t be released by the White House.
When it rains, it pours. #TrumpParade pic.twitter.com/PMpY2Z2mnX
โ Ksenija Pavlovic McAteer (@ksenijapavlovic) July 4, 2019
The event spawned the hashtag “Trump Parade Fail” once the rain began to fall and costs began to be revealed.
“I’m all for celebrating the USA & the military, but the [Donald Trump] should not be wasting taxpayer money on this [Trump 4th Of July] parade,” another user wrote. “Let’s give the money to our military for a raise or give it to veterans.”
“Celebrating this country means taking care of its oceans & forests, its veterans & it’s children,” Alianza for Progress pointed out on Twitter. “It’s not spending $2.5M of the National Park Service’s money for a grandiose, North Korea-style guns & tanks display.”
None of this mentions the actual content of Trump’s speech, including flubs that mentioned airports during the Revolutionary War and details that meshed it together with The War of 1812.
Hereโs Trump claiming American troops secured airports during the Revolutionary War. #SaluteToAmerica pic.twitter.com/DiJDLWcDYb
โ Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 5, 2019