President Donald Trump last month told the Pentagon to put on a large scale military parade in Washington similar to the one France throws on Bastille Day, with tanks and other big military hardware, The Washington Post reports.
"The marching orders were: I want a parade like the one in France," a military official who spoke on the condition of anonymity told the Post. "This is being worked at the highest levels of the military."
Trump last year attended the elaborate French military parade on Bastille Day in Paris as a guest of French President Emmanuel Macron, calling it "one of the greatest parades" he had ever seen, later telling Macron he wanted to have a similar parade in the U.S. to show off his country’s military force.
Discussions for the parade is still in the brainstorming phase, but military officials are unclear on how to pay for shipping equipment and hardware to D.C., which could run into the millions. Still, Trump is determined to have the parade.
"The president wants to do something that highlights the service and sacrifice of the military and have a unifying moment for the country," the official said.