NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
As President Donald Trump hosts events on Saturday to celebrate the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary, a new national poll indicates more Americans are likely to approve than disapprove of the president’s decision to hold a military parade.
But six in 10 Americans are concerned about the cost of the parade, saying it’s “not a good use” of government money, according to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey.
Trump, who is marking his 79th birthday on Saturday, is scheduled to give a speech during the parade, which will take place Saturday evening along the National Mall in Washington D.C.
Defense officials say roughly 6,600 soldiers will march in the parade, with some 50 military aircraft and 150 vehicles, including tanks, rocket launchers, and missiles. The Army says it’s spending $25-$45 million to pay for the parade, which includes fixing D.C. streets damaged by the tanks.
TRUMP WARNS ANY PROTESTERS AT HIS MILITARY PARADE WILL BE ‘MET WITH VERY BIG FORCE’
Trump has defended the cost of the parade, saying last month in an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that it would be “peanuts compared to the value of doing it.”
“We have the greatest missiles in the world. We have the greatest submarines in the world. We have the greatest army tanks in the world. We have the greatest weapons in the world. And we’re going to celebrate it,” the president said.
TRUMP TO HOST MILITARY PARADE TO CELEBRATE ARMY’S 250TH BIRTHDAY
But some in Congress are criticizing the parade, saying the money could be better spent.
“If it was really about celebrating military families, we could put $30 million toward helping them offset the cost of their child care, food assistance and tuition,” Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a military veteran who lost both of her legs in combat while piloting an Army Black Hawk helicopter during the Iraq War, said in a social media post.
“But it isn’t. Trump is throwing himself a $30 million birthday parade just to stroke his own ego,” Duckworth argued.
According to the poll, 40% of adults nationwide approved of the military parade, with 29% disapproving, and three in 10 neither approving nor disapproving.
There was an expected partisan divide, with two-thirds of Republicans approving of the president’s move to hold the parade, and half of Democrats disapproving.
But in a separate question, 60% of those surveyed said holding the parade was not a good use of government funds, with 38% disagreeing.
Nearly two-thirds of Republicans said holding the parade was a good use of government funds, while eight in 10 Democrats disagreed.
The White House, in a statement, said that the parade “will be a unifying celebration for not only the thousands in attendance, but Americans across the country who can participate in honoring our active-duty servicemembers, Veterans, and fallen heroes.”
Pro-democracy, progressive, and labor activists are planning protests in all 50 states on Saturday that will coincide with Trump’s military parade. Many are part of a series of “No Kings” protests across the country, with more than 1,500 rallies scheduled for this weekend.
But organizers decided against holding a major protest in the nation’s capital and instead will hold their main event in Philadelphia.
The poll, which was conducted June 5-9, also indicates that 39% of those questioned approve of the job Trump’s doing in the White House, with six in ten giving the president a thumbs down.
The survey had an overall margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points.
Read the full article here
