Trump team wanted tanks, missile launchers in parade: report

Donald Trump’s inauguration team wanted to show off the U.S. military during inauguration weekend and even suggested including tanks and missile launchers in his inaugural parade, The Huffington Post reported Thursday.

“They were legit thinking Red Square/North Korea-style parade,” an inauguration team source told The Huffington Post, referring to massive military parades in Moscow and Pyongyang that are often interpreted as displays of aggression.

{mosads}According to the report, the military shot down the request because of concerns about how it would look to have tanks and missile launchers in the parade, as well as the possible damage the tanks, which can weigh over 100,000 pounds, would do to the roads.

“I could absolutely see structural support being a reason [not to use tanks],” a Department of Defense official told The Huffington Post. “D.C. is built on a swamp to begin with.” 

There will still be some military presence at the inauguration.

There are five military flyovers planned ― one for each branch of the armed services ― for Friday’s inaugural parade. The Air Force plans to fly four fighter jets: an F-35, an F-16, an F-22 and an F-15E. The Navy will fly four F/A-18 combat jets. The Army will fly four UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. The Marines will fly four V-22 Ospreys. And the Coast Guard is expected to fly four MH-65 rescue helicopters, according to a Pentagon official. 

The number and type of planes used could change, depending on Friday’s weather.

It is not unusual to feature some display of the military, such as flyovers, during the inauguration.