Donald Trump’s plan for a military parade on June 14, 2025, officially to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army as well as coinciding with the president’s 79th birthday, is yet another indication of his affinity for authoritarian leaders and regimes.

Although the parade, which will include 6,000 soldiers, 150 military vehicles and 50 helicopters − and will temporarily close Reagan National Airport and cost more than US$45 million − is ostensibly to celebrate the military, the idea is pure Trump.

When pressed about his desire for the parade, the president has explained his reasoning for having the parade.

“We had more to do with winning World War II than any other nation. Why don’t we have a Victory Day? So we’re going to have a Victory Day for World War I and for World War II.”

While big military parades in Washington, D.C., other than immediately following a major military victory, are largely without precedent, there is another American city that has a much richer tradition of parades. That city is New York.

New York is a parade town. It’s also a city with which Trump has a long, complex relationship.

Trump was born in New York and began his business career there. Before Trump was a politician, or even a reality TV star,

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