The national furor over the situation in Los Angeles is bleeding into the debate over the massive military parade scheduled for Washington this weekend.

The parade’s official purpose is to mark the 250th anniversary of the Army. But the day of the parade, June 14, is also President Trump’s birthday.

The intersection of the two dates led to criticism from liberals from the moment the parade was announced, with allegations flung that it will amount to a strongman’s show-of-force rather than a patriotic celebration of the American military.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), herself an Army veteran, wrote on social media last week that the money being used on the parade could be better spent helping with necessities like food and child care for troops “if it was really about celebrating military families.”

“But it isn’t,” Duckworth added. “Trump is throwing himself a $30 million birthday parade just to stroke his own ego.”

The critique is being turbocharged by events in Los Angeles.

There, Trump has ordered the deployment of more than 4,000 members of the National Guard as well as 700 Marines in response to disorder around immigration protests. Some cars have been burned by protesters angry at actions taken by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and objects, including Molotov cocktails and rocks, have been........

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