After dueling Army processions in Washington, D.C. and nationwide “No Kings” protests, the war of spin has begun.
Following the Saturday event in the Capitol, the Trump administration was quick to tout what appeared to be inflated attendance numbers and brand the “No Kings” protest, which drew millions across events in some 2,000 cities and small towns across the country, as an “utter failure with minuscule attendance.”
“Despite the threat of rain, over 250,000 patriots showed up to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army,” White House communications director Steven Cheung wrote on X. “God Bless the USA!”
Outside estimates, meanwhile, suggest there were far fewer in attendance than the 200,000 people expected to view the parade, which coincided with the president’s birthday.
Empty bleachers and gaps in the audience could be seen in the crowd that turned out to watch more than 6,000 soldiers and 128 Army tanks roll through Washington.
“When the day came, it was something closer to a medium-sized town’s July 4th celebration,” The Independent’s Richard Hall wrote in his dispatch from the event. “There were families, picnics, bad weather and small crowds.”
Online, meanwhile, critics of the president poked fun at images from the event, including the unexpected appearance of Trump-aligned corporate sponsors like cryptocurrency firm Coinbase and Oracle, as well as a squeaky antique tank filmed driving through a largely silent section of the crowd, viewed by some as a symbol for the event’s larger success.
In terms of sheer numbers, the “No Kings” events that took place the same day as the parade dwarfed the Trump administration’s event, drawing between four and six million people, according to an estimate from data journalist G. Elliot Morris and outside analysts. The event’s organizers have put the number at more than 5 million.
Organizers purposely avoided throwing a protest in Washington, an effort they said was meant to draw focus away from the famously image-obsessed president.
“Instead of allowing this birthday parade to be the center of gravity, we will make action everywhere else the story of America that day: people coming together in communities across the country to reject strongman politics and corruption,” organizers wrote.
The gambit appeared to be a success, and images of the nationwide protests were plastered across the front page of every major newspaper, sometimes crowding out the president’s parade.
Trump has long been fixated on the size of crowds at his events, beginning with his repeated, dubious claims that his first inauguration was the largest in U.S. history, a trend of boasting that continued through his 2024 campaign.
In addition to the intentional political theater of the day — which included Trump-shaped puppets and crossed-out crown insignias on one hand, the White House framed in the background of the stage at the Army parade on the other — there were also striking, unplanned symbols of the present political moment.
Saturday marked the first time that hundreds of U.S. Marines called to respond to ongoing unrest in Los Angeles were spotted joining law enforcement on the ground.
Marines, federalized National Guard troops, and Los Angeles police officers and sheriff’s deputies squared off with demonstrators outside a federal building that’s been a center of protest for days as Angelenos challenge the Trump administration’s immigration raids in the area.
Police say demonstrators attacked law enforcement, while protesters and media members have described a largely peaceful crowd caught by surprise as officers wielding batons and tear gas with little warning after an order to disperse.
