President Donald Trump has arrived at the military parade to mark the Army’s 250th anniversary, coinciding with his 79th birthday.
Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are watching from the stands on a dark and cloudy evening in Washington, D.C.
The president waved to the crowd and pumped his fist as people chanted “USA! USA!”
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is standing beside the president as more than 6,000 troops are marching near the National Mall.
Flash floods and thunderstorms are forecast in the capital later, but Trump vowed the weather wouldn’t stop the celebrations.
“Our great military parade is on, rain or shine. Remember, a rainy day parade brings good luck. I’ll see you all in DC,” Trump wrote on Truth Social earlier.
The parade tells the Army’s story, starting with the Battle of Lexington — the first battle of the Revolutionary War — and move all the way to present day.
Each conflict will have 150 troops in period costume, followed by a section of hundreds of troops in modern-day dress. For the past several weeks, Army planners have been working out how to get it timed to exactly 90 minutes, Army spokesman Steve Warren said.
Parachuters descended from the sky at the opening of the parade, as red smoke streaked across the sky.
The parade follows a day of protests where thousands of people took to the streets in more than 2,000 locations to demonstrate against Trump and the administration.
The “No Kings” demonstrations were organized to deliberately clash with the president’s celebrations in Washington, D.C.
Trump’s director of communications, Steven Cheung, mocked the protests on X.
“The so-called No Kings protests have been a complete and utter failure with minuscule attendance,” Cheung said. “It is sad Democrats and liberals would rather support criminals and illegals instead of celebrating the 250th anniversary of our great U.S. Army and Flag Day. But many more Americans are commemorating our brave military men and women who have given the ultimate sacrifice and who those continue to serve our country.“
AP contributed reporting
