Trump's Military Parade: Bad Marching Explained
This weekend, there was a military parade in DC to mark Flag Day and the 250th anniversary of the US Army — and definitely, totally not for President Donald Trump's birthday.
If you've seen any clips going viral from the event, you've likely noticed that many soldiers marching out of sync with one another, or generally appeared to have pretty low energy, certainly not what one imagines when they conjure the image of a strongman military parade. It led to some speculating that the marching (or lack thereof) may have been a form of political protest.
So, I spoke to Charlotte Clymer, an activist and DC-based writer, who covered the topic in her Substack "Charlotte's Web Thoughts." She served in the US Army from 2005-2012, including three years in the 3rd US Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard). Of her time in the Old Guard, she said, "I probably did hundreds of parades and various ceremonies, to say nothing of all the funerals that we carried out in Arlington National Cemetery. Beyond the actual missions, we were doing training all the time. We're talking 1000s of hours of drilling, marching, and various preparations for those ceremonies."
Charlotte, like some of the other veterans I spoke to, said that she initially hadn't planned to watch the parade. However, after being sent clips while she was at a No Kings protest, she was "surprised" and "beyond shocked" when she watched the whole thing. She said, "That is something I never thought I would see in my lifetime. The glaring nature of the poor quality of the marching really kind of shook me. And I know that might sound strange for people to hear, because for most folks, it's just a military parade. It's not that big a deal."
"But you have to understand, even beyond the whole honor aspect of this and discipline, fidelity to the mission, there's also just the consequences of not performing to standard in a military operation, even if it is just a parade," she continued. "Part of what makes soldiers meet a high standard of excellence is knowing there will be consequences if we don't. And in a parade of that public significance on national television, with the whole country watching, every soldier marching in that parade would normally understand that if they fail to meet at least a basic standard, they're going to face consequences for it."
Charlotte doesn't buy that some of the soldiers simply were from units that weren't used to marching. "Every soldier learns how to march during basic training, and it's not hard. It's remarkably easy," she continued, noting that the soldiers will have had a dress rehearsal a few days prior.
As for why we saw what we saw, she said, "I don't think this was a protest against Trump, or anything adjacent to anti-fascism or concern with how the government is operating. I don't think it had anything to do with that. I think this is just because they were treated very poorly and they didn't care. I think the soldiers who were misstepping during the parade — there were a lot of them — were just tired, annoyed, probably to some extent angry, and they just did not give enough of a shit to march to a high standard of excellence."
Part of the annoyance, Charlotte thinks, may have stemmed from many of the army members likely having to travel from out of town, staying in not-great lodgings, waking up early, and then spending hours waiting for their turn to march — "their comfort and dignity really were an afterthought." However, she also thinks it may have been because the parade itself was "completely unnecessary."
"Everyone is aware that this parade was done in service of Donald Trump — even the soldiers who likely voted for him know it was done in service to his ego. And I don't know about you, but I would never want to participate in the parade so that a lone individual could feel good about themselves," she explained. "Of course, we want to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the US Army. But everyone is aware that that's simply a proxy for Trump celebrating himself. He wanted to recreate what he saw in North Korea, in France, in these other countries, these massive, flashy military parades that really would center him. He wanted a tyrant celebration. Everyone was aware of that, and I think their unhappiness showed through pretty clearly."
Charlotte compared the parade with the inaugural parade, where "you'll almost never see a soldier out of step." Calling this event "deeply embarrassing," she said, "There are unfriendly nations probably watching this and wondering, does this military really support its commander-in-chief?"
Speaking to how the parade might reflect on potential military use in city protests, Charlotte said, "The whole point of having our military is to protect the Constitution and the people the Constitution is meant to serve. If we don't have a military that is nonpartisan, that serves lawful orders of the President by the direction of the Constitution, we're in big trouble. At the moment, it's pretty clear that there has been some degree of dissension and unhappiness in the ranks, whether or not that has to do with politics or the way the troops are being treated. This is a complex conversation, but it is clear that there is a deep unhappiness in the military at the moment."
Charlotte later emailed us to add, "It was like watching a professional baseball game and the players drop easy, routine pop flies numerous times. It was that level of surreal embarrassment." You can read more about the parade here.
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