Don’t Reign on His Parade!

  

Trump on Truth Social   Trump Watching 7/14/17 Parade in Paris   Standard N Korean military show-off parade       Trump was ordained to rule

Don’t Reign on His Parade!

"And on June 14, 1946, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, 'I need a caretaker.' So God gave us Trump."

From a Trump 2.0 campaign video.

“The first time [Trump 1.0], I had two things to do ‒ run the country and survive; I had all these crooked guys… And the second time [Trump 2.0], I run the country and the world.” 

Trump in The Atlantic, April 28th.

“I don’t know. It seems — it might say that, but if you’re talking about that, then we’d have to have a million or 2 million or 3 million trials…We have thousands of people that are — some murderers and some drug dealers and some of the worst people on Earth… I was elected to get them the hell out of here, and the courts are holding me from doing it.”

Trump when asked if he supports the constitutional requirement of due process (Meet the Press, 5/4)

"Yeah, military tanks on our streets would not be good. If military tanks were used, they should be accompanied with many millions of dollars to repair the roads.” 

DC Mayor Muriel Bowser

To many, June 14th is flag day. This year, it also represents the 250th anniversary for the US Army. While a celebration ceremony was planned, a big fat showcase of American military power was not. Until someone noted that 14th was also President Trump’s 79th birthday, and HE wanted more. Only Congress can authorize a federal holiday, but the coincidence was just too tempting to our narcissistic President who posted the above AI-generated portrait of Pope Trump one week after he attended the real Pope’s funeral in Rome. The big parade, with an estimated cost approaching $100 million, is on. The Army planners are all over it: “Plans for the parade include 6,000 soldiers, helicopters, and armored vehicles, including Strykers, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, and possibly Abrams M-1 tanks, said the official who was not authorized to speak publicly.” USA Today, May 2nd.

Trump was inspired by the French celebration of Bastille Day (French independence day) during his first administration. It was huge, and French troops, missile and tanks were massively deployed. It was a rare demonstration of raw power for a Western nation; normally such ostentatious parades are typical signatures for autocratic nations like Russia, China and North Korea. Clearly, Trump was jealous.

His culture war, reflecting Trump’s America First “superiority” as well as his trade war assault on global economy, were, in his mind, destined to redefine his legacy as the single most powerful human being on Earth, a head of state that determined the state of the entire planet. And such a head of state, in his mind, deserved a celebration of his rippling and unbridled power. Happy Birthday, DJT! The nation adores you and has given you a mandate to rule… absolutely. Prove it to the world with a self-aggrandizing show of your raw military power!

Ever since Trump’s survival of an assassination attempt at a June 13, 2024 Butler, Pennsylvania, the already pervasive view among evangelicals that Trump was anointed to be US President exploded in the Christian press and many red state periodicals, as if citing a proven fact. And while the above AI-created photo was arguably posted as a joke, there was profound truth underlying that purported humor.

I’ve already blogged that destruction of the perceived “deep state,” not eliminating fraud and waste, was the real DOGE mission under Elon Musk. The flattening of the institutions of governance, the elimination influencers with the power to sway the public, the elevation of the “culture” war with white Chirstian nationalist zeal… were necessary precursors to Trump’s total control of the nation. See my recentIs It Merely a Constitutional Crisis Or a Bloodless Coup D ’Etat? blog. Surely, an autocrat’s dream parade would be a confirmation to the world, particularly to Trump’s opponents, that his ability to crush them was beyond question.

The $100 million cost of the parade was “peanuts compared to the value,” said Trump as the House debated cuts to Medicaid to enable Trump’s tax cuts for the rich. Indeed, such a parade, with ranks of soldiers saluting Trump in the stands as they marched by, would be a profound affirmation that Trump’s MAGA minions were now the culture that mattered, now that Trump will have confirmed his reign as King of “at least” the United States has begun. After all, only a ruling autocrat gets a parade like that. That Army anniversary… well that was merely a coincidence. 

I’m Peter Dekom, and I wonder how many loud arrogant man-screams of power the rest of the country needs to understand the danger this nation faces… and is willing to oppose that effort with everything they’ve got.