Trump military parade: Did the president ever serve?

WASHINGTON – The Army 250th birthday parade took over the streets of D.C. on Saturday. It was a striking display of the U.S. military capabilities that included guns, tanks, flyovers and more. 

The parade was announced in May and billed by the White House as a “spectacular event honoring our Veterans, active-duty servicemembers, and military history.”

“We love our military and take great pride in honoring our warfighters,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Fox News Digital last month. “In celebration of 250 years of the U.S. Army, we will throw the biggest and most beautiful military parade in our nation’s history.” 

The event:

The parade, beginning at 6:30 p.m., started at 23rd Street and Constitution Avenue and ran to 15th Street.

It featured more than 6,000 soldiers, 150 military vehicles — including 70-ton Abrams tanks, Black Hawk helicopters and more. 

“The Army keeps us free, you make us strong, and tonight, you have made all Americans very proud,” Trump told Army soldiers as he spoke at the National Mall.

Did Trump ever serve?:

President Donald Trump has never served in the military. 

Former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley actually took aim at Trump in early 2024 over his medical deferment from the military. 

The Washington Examiner reported that in an ad, which was titled “Donald Trump Doesn’t Understand Service” Haley called out Trump’s successful avoidance of service. 

In the digital ad, Haley claimed that Trump’s medical condition of “bone spurs” was diagnosed by a New York podiatrist who had a relationship with Trump’s father. 

The American Presidency Project also pulled a quote from Haley’s communications director, Nachama Soloveichik, at the time. 

She said, “Donald Trump’s excuse doesn’t add up, but it does explain his disrespect for our service members and veterans. A man who went to elaborate lengths to avoid the uniform at all costs can’t understand the selfless sacrifice American heroes make.”

Cuts to the VA:

The Trump administration has come under fire for its attempts to cut jobs at Veteran’s Affairs offices.

Back in March, it was announced that the Department of Veterans Affairs was planning a reorganization that included cutting over 80,000 jobs from the sprawling agency that provides health care and other services for millions of veterans,  an internal memo obtained by the Associated Press indicated.

The VA is notoriously an overwhelmed federal agency and many were upset at the idea of further cutting its staff. 

Legislators scrambled to block the move. Virginia Senator Tim Kaine joined two other Democratic senators to introduce legislation that would reinstate veterans who were fired from their federal jobs by the Trump administration. 

How many people were fired, how many were rehired, and the overall impact of the upheaval of the system that provides care for millions of veterans is not yet clear.