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President Trump has asked the Pentagon to marshal a broadening array of military hardware, including tanks and fighter jets, to showcase his planned Fourth of July address to the nation in Washington, DC this week. Trump has wanted a military parade of tanks and other equipment after he witnessed a similar parade on Bastille Day in Paris in 2017. 

The small number of M1 Abrams tanks and other armoured vehicles likely to take part on Thursday will not parade down Pennsylvania Avenue, however, due to the need to protect roads and bridges. "I'm going to be here and I'm going to say a few words and we're going to have planes going overhead, the best fighter jets in the world and other planes too and we're gonna have some tanks stationed outside," Trump said Monday. 

The use of massive military hardware for Thursday’s celebration sparked sharp criticism from DC officials, Democratic lawmakers and advocates of the Park Service, who noted the agency already faces a maintenance backlog of more than US$11 billion.