Nearly 2 in 3 U.S. adults — 64% — oppose the use of government funds for this weekend’s military parade in Washington, D.C., celebrating the Army’s 250th birthday, according to new data from the NBC News Decision Desk Poll, powered by SurveyMonkey.
Majorities of Democrats (88%) and independents (72%) oppose the use of government funds to put on the parade, while 65% of Republicans support it.
Spending public funds on the parade is more popular among supporters of the MAGA movement (75% support), compared to Republicans who identify more as supporters of the party itself (56% support).
The poll was conducted May 30-June 10 and surveyed 19,410 adults nationally, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.1 percentage points.
The Saturday parade to celebrate the Army, which also falls on both Flag Day and President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday, will include about 6,600 soldiers, 50 aircraft and 150 vehicles, according to defense officials. There will be different sections for different portions of the Army’s history, and the event is expected to feature an air show with flyovers and a demonstration by the Army’s Golden Knights parachute team. But it’s not clear how possible storms forecast for Saturday in the Washington area could affect those plans.
The event could cost as much as $45 million, a price tag that includes up to $16 million for costs associated with potential damage to city streets caused by tanks driving on them.
Respondents in the Decision Desk Poll were asked: “As you may know, President Trump has ordered a military parade in Washington D.C. on June 14th to commemorate the U.S. Army’s 250th Birthday. Defense officials estimate the cost for this parade could be as much as 45 million dollars. Do you support or oppose the use of government funds for the parade?”
Overall, 14% of adults said they strongly supported the use of government funds for the parade, and another 22% said they somewhat supported it. Meanwhile, 44% were strongly opposed and another 20% were somewhat opposed.
In early May, Trump defended the cost of the parade by arguing on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that the total was “peanuts compared to the value of doing it.”
“We have the greatest missiles in the world. We have the greatest submarines in the world. We have the greatest Army tanks in the world. We have the greatest weapons in the world. And we’re going to celebrate it,” he said.
Democratic politicians have criticized Trump over the parade spending, saying the money could go to other causes.
“You’re not doing it to celebrate the Army’s birthday, you’re doing it to stroke Donald Trump’s ego,” Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., said last week during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing to Army leaders discussing its budget.
“There are lots of ways to celebrate the Army’s birthday without blowing it all on a parade,” she added.
Others, including groups aligned with Democrats, are planning protests around the event in Washington and across the country, along with ongoing protests about Trump’s immigration policy happening around the U.S.
The NBC News Decision Desk Poll, powered by SurveyMonkey, was conducted from May 30-June 10 among a national sample of 19,410 adults aged 18 and over. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.1 percentage points.
