President Trump called off his highly touted and controversial military parade through the streets of Washington before he got an estimate from the Pentagon on how much it would cost, the Defense Department said on Monday, according to a report.
“The president of the United States was not briefed by any member of the Department of Defense on the cost associated with the parade, before making the decision to cancel the event,” Pentagon spokesman Col. Rob Manning said, the Washington Times reported.
He said the reported cost of the event that led to Trump pulling the plug was “pre-decisional” and that neither Secretary of Defense James Mattis nor Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford had been briefed on the amount.
Mattis reacted with dismay last week when news reports circulated that the cost could hit $92 million — or about $60 million more than the White House had planned on.
He said the military source behind the number should remain anonymous because “you look like an idiot.”
Shortly after Mattis’ comments, Trump went on Twitter to cancel the parade and blame the Washington, DC, government for padding the costs.
“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 canceled it. Never let someone hold you up!,” Trump wrote, adding that he would try again next year.
The president got the hankering for a full-blown military parade after attending Bastille Day celebrations in Paris last year with French President Emmanuel Macron.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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