As the 250th anniversary of the United States Army approaches, which also coincides with President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday, Washington is preparing to mark the occasion with a large-scale military parade featuring thousands of U.S. soldiers, Army vehicles, planes, and fireworks on June 14, 2025. However, concerns are growing as the cost of this event continues to rise, with the current estimate totaling approximately $45 million. Others worry that such a grand display of military hardware ordered by Trump potentially politicizes the military and smacks of authoritarian optics. New research from a recent PRRI survey of more than 5,000 adults shows that few Americans support this planned military celebration.[1]

Most Americans (76%) oppose spending $45 million to hold a large parade of soldiers, weapons, and combat vehicles on the streets of Washington, D.C., in celebration of the Army’s 250th birthday and President Trump’s birthday, including 48% who strongly oppose, compared with only 21% who are in favor. Solid majorities of Democrats (93%) and independents (80%) oppose the military parade, as well as a slim majority of Republicans (52%). Even among Americans who hold favorable views of Trump, a slim majority opposes this event (52%).

Vast majorities across all religious groups oppose this military parade, although opposition is higher among non-white religious Americans and the religiously unaffiliated. More than eight in ten Hispanic Catholic (87%), Black Protestant (85%), other non-Christian (84%), and religiously unaffiliated (84%) Americans oppose the parade. Opposition is high among both Hispanic Protestants (78%) and Jewish Americans (78%) as well. While white Christian groups express less opposition, roughly two-thirds or more of white mainline/non-evangelical Protestants (72%), white Catholics (65%), and white evangelical Protestants (64%) oppose this military parade. While still a majority, Latter-Day Saints (55%) are the least likely to express opposition.

Even among Trump’s most ardent supporters — those Americans who qualify as Christian nationalism Adherents and Sympathizers — solid majorities oppose the military parade (58% and 62%, respectively). Opposition is much higher among those who qualify as Christian nationalism Skeptics (80%) or Rejecters (95%).

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