A massive military parade that celebrates the 250th anniversary of the US Army is set to be held on June 14 in Washington, D.C., coincidently falling on US President Donald Trump’s birthday. Trump stated that the parade would be an unforgettable celebration, “one like you’ve never seen before”.
According to one estimate, the total costs of the event go up to $45 million. The parade will likely see about 200,000 attendees and will honour the Army’s “exceptional service, significant achievements, and enduring legacy.”
Despite Trump’s unwavering enthusiasm, the US mainstream media is divided on how much of the event they should cover. Some major news outlets such as ABC News, NBC News, and CBS News told Variety magazine that they would not uphaul regular TV programming to cover the event and would relegate it to regular news broadcast.
Meanwhile, outlets such as Fox News channel and News Nation will be dedicating detailed special coverage to the event, going as far as changing their regular schedule. Fox’s main channel will, however, air a baseball game on the same day.
ABC News and NBC told Variety that they will cover the event through streaming platforms, leaving their TV sports broadcast programming untouched.
According to Variety, the White House has driven away TV news outlets and companies with legal battles and settlements. CBS News, for example, is still trying to negotiate a settlement with Trump in a court case that alleged that 60 Minutes tried to mislead voters with clips of Kamala Harris.
It’s not just the TV news networks; about 43 out of 50 Republican lawmakers surveyed told Politico that they will not be attending the event. Some raised concerns about the costs and damage the event will bring, calling it a “shocking waste of money.”
On Tuesday, Trump warned protesters that they would be met with “very big force” if they tried to demonstrate at the parade.
