People watching Donald Trump’s birthday military parade in Washington, DC, noticed something strange the soldiers weren’t marching in unison like they normally do. This kind of marching is usually a sign of discipline and pride, but in this case, many said the performance looked weak and poorly organized.
The parade took place on Saturday, the same day Trump turned 79. Although he said the date was just a coincidence, protests against him, called the “No Kings” protests, broke out in over 2,000 cities across the country.
The crowd at the parade was much smaller than expected, and online videos showed that the soldiers’ movements looked clumsy and uncoordinated. Some people said it looked more embarrassing than impressive. One person online even joked that the sloppy marching felt like the soldiers were quietly protesting Trump by not putting in effort.
Another person pointed out that military members usually march in lockstep, and it was obvious that these soldiers weren’t doing that. They wondered if the soldiers just didn’t care about being there.
A military veteran said he had been part of many parades and watched even more, and this one stood out as the worst. He believed the messy marching was a way for the troops to show they didn’t support Trump.
One person said they read comments from several Army veterans and came to the conclusion that the soldiers definitely knew how to march properly. They probably just didn’t want to be part of this event and didn’t try.
According to the U.S. Army, 6,169 soldiers took part in the parade. There were also 128 military vehicles like tanks and artillery, and 62 aircraft flew above. Some planned activities, like the Golden Knights parachute jump, had to be changed or canceled because of the rain.
