President Donald Trump cancels planned military parade over cost

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Friday said he canceled his requested Veterans Day military parade, blaming local officials for "ridiculously high" costs and instead will return to Paris on Veterans Day for a parade celebrating the end of World War I.

Trump also disclosed that he asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to study whether to change its schedule for reports by publicly traded companies from quarterly to semiannual, an idea he heard from “some of the world’s top business leaders.”

In scuttling the Washington parade, Trump blamed a reported $92 million price tag for what he had hoped would be a military showcase — a bill that included $50 million for Pentagon costs for aircraft, equipment, personnel and other support and the rest for other agencies for security.

“The local politicians who run Washington, D.C. (poorly) know a windfall when they see it. When asked to give us a price for holding a great celebratory military parade, they wanted a number so ridiculously high that I cancelled it,” Trump tweeted.

“I will instead . . . attend the big parade already scheduled at Andrews Air Force Base on a different date, & go to the Paris parade, celebrating the end of the War, on November 11th,” he continued.

Trump ordered a military parade in Washington after being impressed by the Bastille Day celebration he attended last year as a guest of French President Emmanuel Macron. That parade featured French soldiers, military tanks and fighter jets along the Champs Elysees.

Trump held out hope for a big parade in 2019.

“Maybe we will do something next year in D.C. when the cost comes WAY DOWN,” Trump tweeted. “Now we can buy some more jet fighters!”

Washington's Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, tweeted back at Trump: "Yup, I’m Muriel Bowser, mayor of Washington, DC, the local politician who finally got thru to the reality star in the White House with the realities ($21.6M) of parades/events/demonstrations in Trump America (sad).” 

Bowser told The Associated Press that the city needed about $13 million for police costs and the rest for fire, emergency medical services and transportation.

Trump will have to wait until spring to attend a military celebration at Joint Base Andrews in the Maryland suburbs of Washington. 

The next scheduled event there that's open to the public will be an air show that is still in the planning phase, according to the base's public affairs officials.

In another tweet, Trump floated the idea of changing the SEC’s longtime quarterly reporting system for publicly traded companies, a requirement some have blamed for making companies focus on short-term gains instead of making longer-term investments.

“In speaking with some of the world’s top business leaders I asked what it is that would make business (jobs) even better in the U.S. ‘Stop quarterly reporting & go to a six month system,’ said one,” Trump tweeted.

“That would allow greater flexibility & save money,” Trump tweeted. “I have asked SEC to study!”