The Military Parade Donald Trump
Has Been Dreaming About
Win Without War
(April 30, 2025) — It’s exactly the hyper-nationalist vanity project you’d expect from a dictator.
Reports indicate the White House is reviving Trump’s detestable dream of a massive military parade in our nation’s capital this summer, complete with tanks, missile launchers, and fighter jets. They’re pinning it to the Army’s 250th anniversary, which just so happens to be Trump’s 79th birthday.[1]
For 100 days now, we’ve watched Trump’s distorted definitions of power and national security leave people — including military families — struggling. As Trump’s poll numbers tank to historic lows, we know he’s looking for ANY opportunity to flex what little strength he’s got left.
This parade could be his answer, so we’re racing to make sure this bad idea stays in the drawer. The good news? Whether it’s overwhelming Congress with calls to refuse to pay, urging DC officials to tie up the party in red tape, highlighting the outrageous misallocation of critical resources, or mobilizing a massive grassroots movement ready to protest the rise of authoritarianism, we’ve got INCREDIBLE leverage to stop Trump’s self-serving idea in its tracks.
It wouldn’t be the first time. When Trump tried to push a $92 MILLION tank parade on Veterans Day in 2018, we helped make the idea so toxic that Trump was forced to cancel. Today, we’ve got to do it again.
If you know anything about Win Without War, you know we’re not afraid of a fight — and this one is sure to be big. If we can quickly raise enough funds, we’ll mobilize tens of thousands in opposition, then launch a hard-hitting advocacy push to shut. this. parade. down.
During his first term, Trump was so taken after watching France’s massive Bastille Day military parade that he wanted one, too. After public outrage grew amidst reports the event would cost a shocking $92 MILLION, we helped force him to change course.
Unfortunately, this bad idea won’t die. Now, Trump’s pushing his dream once more — and the price tag is likely to be higher — even as massive federal layoffs disproportionately rock the lives of active military and veteran families in the DC area.
Sending machines of war through the streets of DC would also cause MILLIONS of dollars in damage, just as DC braces for a $1.1 BILLION budget cut pushed by far-right offices in Congress that will slash everything from firefighters’ funding to school programs. Every dollar that pays for this parade is a dollar that could be invested in our communities.
But this moment is about more than just a massive misuse of resources necessary to send tanks down Pennsylvania Avenue. It’s also about pushing back against the dangerous idea that our strength comes from tanks or fighter jets. It’s about resisting Trump’s growing authoritarianism and instead working to help build the future we all want and deserve: one where everyone can thrive without the threat of violence.
Because despite his 24/7 effort to tear our government apart, Trump STILL can’t change the fact that we live in a democracy.
Win Without War spends a lot of time and energy working to jam up the gears of the U.S. war machine. To do it, we go toe-to-toe with war hawks and weapons industry lobbyists. That’s why this is the kind of fight we’re built for.
In 2018, our people-powered movement helped stop Trump’s parade in its tracks. But it only worked because supporters like you stood up and said NO to an authoritarian military spectacle like the one Trump has his eyes on.
Thank you for working for peace,
The Win Without War team
- Washington City Paper, “Trump Will Get His Showy (And Likely Expensive) Military Parade in D.C.”
