Trump says there will be military tanks at Fourth of July event

President Trump said Monday there will be military tanks on display on the National Mall for this week’s Independence Day celebration.

“We’re going to have some tanks stationed outside,” Trump said during a bill signing in the Oval Office. “You’ve got to be pretty careful with the tanks because the roads have a tendency not to like to carry heavy tanks. So we have to put them in certain areas.”

He went on to tout production of tanks at a factory in Lima, Ohio, which he visited earlier this year.{mosads}

The Washington Post first reported earlier Monday that administration officials were scrambling to fulfill Trump’s request to have tanks or other armored military vehicles incorporated into a “Salute to America” event on Thursday.

Trump will deliver remarks from the Lincoln Memorial as part of the event and has played an active role in its planning.

The Washington, D.C., council on Monday tweeted its opposition to involving tanks, noting the potential damage to local infrastructure.

We have said it before, and we’ll say it again: Tanks, but no tanks. (PS: The @DeptofDefense agrees, see highlighted area below) pic.twitter.com/ock2EORKNz

— Council of DC (@councilofdc) July 1, 2019

The president last year voiced a desire to hold a military parade to mark the 100-year anniversary of the World War I armistice. The event was scrapped amid concerns from lawmakers and a reported price tag of $92 million.

But the military will figure prominently into Trump’s planned Fourth of July celebration. In addition to the tanks, the Department of the Interior announced last week that the event would feature a flyover by the U.S. Navy Blue Angels.

Some Democrats have raised concerns about Trump politicizing Independence Day and the military with Thursday’s event.

“Risking damage to local infrastructure and dumping huge piles of taxpayer money onto the never-ending bonfire of Donald Trump’s vanity,” Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) tweeted Monday morning in response to The Washington Post’s report.

“My constituents and the other people who live here overwhelmingly do NOT want this,” he continued. “This celebration is about US independence, not Trump’s ego.”

Risking damage to local infrastructure and dumping huge piles of taxpayer money onto the never-ending bonfire of Donald Trump’s vanity. My constituents and the other people who live here overwhelmingly do NOT want this.

This celebration is about US independence, not Trump’s ego. https://t.co/wX5yP9uels

— Rep. Don Beyer (@RepDonBeyer) July 1, 2019