Michael Hernandez
17 August 2018•Update: 17 August 2018
By Michael Hernandez
WASHINGTON
President Donald Trump canceled on Friday a military parade planned for November, blaming Washington, D.C.'s local government for its costs.
Trump said D.C.'s local politicians "know a windfall when they see it," and asked for a sum "so ridiculously high that I it.
"Never let someone hold you up!" Trump wrote on Twitter. "Maybe we will do something next year in D.C. when the cost comes WAY DOWN. Now we can buy some more jet fighters!"
The announcement follows a report Thursday from CNBC news site that pegged the cost of the president's long-sought military parade at $92 million, an astronomical increase from original estimates of $12 million.
Trump said instead of carrying out the parade he wanted he will instead participate in an already-scheduled parade at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, and attend another parade in Paris commemorating the end of World War I on Nov. 11.
Mayor Muriel Bowser retorted to Trump on Twitter, saying she is "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)."
Trump's military parade was expected to include a bevy of American military personnel and equipment, as well as of fighter jets and historical aircraft.
In all, the Pentagon's expenses were estimated to run $50 million while interagency partners' costs accounted for the remaining $42 million, according to CNBC.
Secretary of Defense James Mattis disputed the estimate Thursday, saying "I have not seen an estimate of $10 million or $92 million.
"Whoever wrote it needs to get better sources," he said, calling the anonymous source CNBC cited "stupid."
It is unclear what figures Mattis had reviewed, but his boss was quick to point to the "ridiculously high" price tag when he announced the cancelation, and Bowser's estimate of $21.6 million for D.C.'s costs alone would have placed the figure well over initial projections.
