LDF Denounces Military Parade to Honor President Trump

Read a PDF of our statement here.

Tomorrow, on Flag Day and the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, a $45 million parade will be held in Washington, D.C., to celebrate President Trump's birthday.

In response, Legal Defense Fund (LDF) President and Director-Counsel Janai Nelson made the following statement:

"Tomorrow, we should be honoring our service members and reflecting on their sacrifices to protect our security, while also holding them accountable to the principles of an inclusive and equitable multiracial democracy. Instead, President Trump has commandeered a celebration that should belong to all Americans, especially our service members, veterans, and their families, to celebrate and idolize himself.

"Donald Trump is an elected president - not a king or an emperor - and is subject to the checks and balances established in our Constitution. No garish display of wealth, militarization, and spectacle can change that.

"The astronomical cost of this parade during a time when families are struggling to make ends meet, the emblems of force and militarization, and the singular focus on President Trump at the expense of service members and veterans set a dangerous precedent. The tanks, drones, weaponry, and surveillance that will be on dramatic display tomorrow are hallmarks of military parades in an autocratic regime. It is no coincidence that this spectacle occurs while the threat of violence is weaponized across the country to criminalize dissent, attack equity, and undermine the foundational elements of a functioning democracy.

"This parade is a reckless and shameful display of military force. It is an ostentatious and wasteful use of public resources, subsidized by the American people, to venerate President Trump. We denounce it vigorously."

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Founded in 1940, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) is the nation's first civil rights law organization. LDF's Thurgood Marshall Institute is a multi-disciplinary and collaborative hub within LDF that launches targeted campaigns and undertakes innovative research to shape the civil rights narrative. In media attributions, please refer to us as the Legal Defense Fund or LDF. Please note that LDF has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957 - although LDF was originally founded by the NAACP and shares its commitment to equal rights.