Trump Will Have Potent Military Symbol for July 4th Speech

Tanks will be on display on National Mall
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 2, 2019 6:11 AM CDT
Updated Jul 2, 2019 6:51 AM CDT
Trump Will Have Potent Military Symbol for July 4th Speech
President Trump in the Oval Office of the White House Monday, July 1, 2019.   (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

President Trump isn't getting the full military parade he wanted in DC on the Fourth of July, but he is getting some mighty symbols of military power—tanks. It's not clear how many or exactly where they'll be, but the president said Monday that tanks will be stationed somewhere on the National Mall, reports the Hill. "We're going to have some tanks stationed outside," said Trump, who will speak from the Lincoln Memorial on the holiday. "You've got to be pretty careful with the tanks because the roads have a tendency not to like to carry heavy tanks. So we have to put them in certain areas."

The AP, meanwhile, apparently got a peek: One of its photographers spotted two M1A1 Abrams tanks and two Bradley Fighting Vehicles on flatcars at a DC rail yard, and they were being guarded by military police. On Monday, the DC council said that it opposed tanks as part of a parade because of the potential damage to roads, tweeting, "Tanks, but no tanks." The tanks won't be the only military presence: The Navy's Blue Angels will do a flyover, and the chiefs of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines are expected to be on the podium with the president, reports the New York Times. (The last president to do anything similar was Harry Truman in 1951.)

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