Donald Trump threw himself a $45 million birthday parade — and it flopped hard.
What was meant to be a grand military show marking both Trump’s birthday and the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary turned into an awkward, low-energy event with weak turnout and almost no buzz. Meanwhile, anti-Trump protests across the country drew massive crowds, stealing the spotlight.
Conservative attorney George Conway didn’t let the moment slide. Taking aim at Trump’s obsession with military pageantry, Conway mocked him with a sharp new nickname.
“@realDonaldTrump tried to play Kim Jong Un for an afternoon, but he’s still just Kim Jong Loon,” Conway posted on social media.
Trump spent much of the parade looking bored, and the event had none of the high energy or mass turnout he often boasts about. Instead, it reminded many of authoritarian spectacles — not American pride.
Hillary Clinton, who ran against Trump in 2016, called it a “low-energy Dear Leader parade.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom also took a direct swipe at the former president the day before the event: “Trump’s parade is nothing more than a vulgar demonstration of just how weak he is,” he wrote. “It’s the kind of thing you see with Kim Jong Un, Putin — dictators around the world that are weak and desperate. It’s as small as it gets. But that’s Donald Trump.”
Rep. Marc Veasey (D-Texas) went further, saying Trump’s “$45 million birthday party” looked like something out of Stalin’s playbook. He announced new legislation — the PARADE Act — aimed at preventing future presidents from using military shows for personal celebration.
Trump looked visibly bored at times as the hours dragged on, far from the strongman image he seemed to be aiming for. Instead of a victory lap, it became a national punchline.
Check the tweets below:
