Reuters
Donald Trump has attacked Washington, D.C. local officials for charging what he claims was a “ridiculously high” price for his military parade that led to its cancellation. On Thursday, a new estimate for the cost of the parade came out at $92 million—about $80 million more than previous projections—including $50 million from the Pentagon and $42 million from agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security. It was then swiftly postponed, with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis batting down claims it was canceled over costs as idiotic. However, Trump appeared to confirm what Mattis denied on Twitter Friday. “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. Never let someone hold you up! 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. Maybe we will do something next year in D.C. when the cost comes WAY DOWN. Now we can buy some more jet fighters!”
Shortly afterward, the mayor of D.C. responded: “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).”