Pentagon preparing options for Trump's military parade critics pan as 'fantastic waste of money'

'I think we're all aware, in this country, of the President's affection and respect for the military,' says Defence Secretary James Mattis

The US Defence Department has said it is exploring potential options for Donald Trump’s proposed military parade, which a top Democrat called a “fantastic waste of money to amuse the President”.

“I think we’re all aware, in this country, of the President’s affection and respect for the military. We’ve been putting together some options,” Defence Secretary James Mattis told reporters during a White House press briefing. “We’ll send them up to the White House for a decision.”

Mr Mattis appeared at the briefing to lay out an argument for fully funding the military – shortly after Senate leaders announced that they had struck a deal on a budget that includes a major boost in military spending.

When asked why he would divert time, energy, financial resources to the planning of a parade, Mr Mattis replied: “The President’s respect, his fondness for the military, I think, is reflected in him asking for these options.”

The office of Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser has already ruled out the idea of the city paying for the event.

The mayor’s spokesperson, Anu Rangappa, said the administration has not yet formally reached out to DC officials about the proposed parade.

“In the meantime, we do know that, just like the wall, he will have to pay for it,“ she said, referring to Mr Trump’s proposed border wall between the US and Mexico. Mr Trump repeatedly stated during his campaign that Mexico would pay for the construction of the barrier – a claim that was rejected by America’s southern neighbour.

Mr Trump has long floated the idea of holding a parade to show the US’s military might, but he has apparently now issued a directive to make his dream a reality.

When Mr Trump met with the French President Emmanuel Macron in September, the commander-in-chief gushed about seeing France’s military might on display in the streets when he watched the Bastille Day parade with his French counterpart in July.

“I was your guest at Bastille Day, and it was one of the greatest parades I’ve ever seen,” Mr Trump told Mr Macron. “To a large extent because of what I witnessed, we may do something like that on July Fourth in Washington down Pennsylvania Avenue.”

Critics are panning the President’s supposed order for a parade as a waste of money and say it is reminiscent of events that dictators hold to celebrate their strength.

“Take the money that the President would like to spend on this parade [and] instead, let’s make sure our troops are ready for battle and survive it and come home to their families,” said Senator Dick Durbin, the Democratic minority whip, in an interview with MSNBC.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told CNN that such a parade risks being “kind of cheesy and a sign of weakness” if it’s all about showing off military hardware.

“My hope is this parade will not focus on military hardware, but on military service, sacrifice, and saying ‘Thank You“ to those who protect our nation,” Mr Graham said on Twitter.

During a 18 January meeting between the President and top generals at the Pentagon, Mr Trump said we wanted a large-scale military that would roll through the streets of Washington – a demand that was interpreted as a presidential directive, according to the Washington Post.

“The marching orders were: I want a parade like the one in France,” a military official told the newspaper. “This is being worked at the highest levels of the military.”

Despite the criticism, the White House has defended Mr Trump’s desire for a military parade.

When pressed by a reporter on whether that was the best way to show appreciation for the troops, Ms Sanders said the White House has not made a final decision and that they are “exploring different ways that he could highlight and show the pride we have in the military.”

Marc Short, the White House director of legislative affairs, said he was not sure that honouring our military is a waste of money.”

“This is not about a dictatorship,” he told MSNBC. “This is about the President wanting to honour the military.”