People are cracking up after a video of a tank squeaking through a sparse crowd down Constitution Avenue on Saturday during President Donald Trump's military parade sparked commentary and memes about the controversial event.
Trump had long wanted a military showcase in the U.S.; during his first term, he expressed a desire for a military parade after witnessing a Bastille Day parade in Paris. However, the event he gave—a celebration of the U.S. Army's 250th anniversary that also coincided with his 79th birthday—was poorly organized.
And few images of the day exemplify this hot mess more than the sight of a squeaky tank rolling down the street during the festivities... not exactly the image of military might one would have anticipated.
Scripps News correspondent Elizabeth Landers got it all on video—and it's as cringey as you're imagining.
You can see the video below.
The second-hand embarrassment was real—and the commentary was hilarious.
Others criticized Trump more directly, only underscoring how unimpressive the whole affair really was.
Unfortunately for Trump and his giant vanity project, there were much bigger stories both domestically and internationally that garnered attention across the U.S.
Saturday’s headlines were dominated by a manhunt in Minnesota following the assassination of a Democratic state lawmaker and the attempted assassination of another. As festivities unfolded in Washington, Minnesota officials scrambled to investigate the attack, which had unfolded just hours earlier. A suspect has since been arrested.
The violence cast a grim shadow over an already tense day, marked by stark contrasts: the military parade that rolled through the nation’s capital felt remarkably out of place as mass protests against the Trump administration took place across the country.
Meanwhile, rising tensions in the Middle East—amid escalating hostilities between Israel and Iran—fueled fears of a broader regional conflict... which of course took attention away from Trump, and we all know how much he hates that.
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