While the liberal media, along with The Associated Press' blaring headline, sought to tarnish President Donald Trump's plan to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Army with a June 14 parade, Trump beat back criticism.
June 14 might be Trump's birthday, but it's also Flag Day and the day recognized as the 250th anniversary of the creation of the U.S. Army, Trump told NBC News' "Meet the Press" host Kristen Welker in an interview airing Sunday.
"My birthday happens to be on Flag Day," Trump told Welker from Mar-a-Lago. "I view it for Flag Day, not necessarily my birthday. Somebody put it together.
"But no, I think we're going to do something on June 14 maybe or somewhere around there. But I think June 14. It's a very important day."
The AP, often ripped by Trump for being biased against him and the target of a massive reordering of White House exclusive credentials, blared the headline "Army plans for a potential parade on Trump’s birthday call for 6,600 soldiers, AP learns."
But the reports' headlines tarnished the notion of a parade to honor American troops and the Army by suggesting Trump's "big, beautiful" Army parade in Washington, D.C., will be to celebrate his birthday.
Now the target of the anti-Trump media's ire is the $45 million cost of celebrating the Army with a parade, all while Trump is working to root out former President Joe Biden's and Democrat-pushed spending levels rife with "waste, fraud, and abuse," according to Trump and officials leading the Department of Government Efficiency.
The cost is "peanuts compared to the value of doing it," Trump told Welker.
"We have the greatest missiles in the world," he said. "We have the greatest submarines in the world. We have the greatest army tanks in the world. We have the greatest weapons in the world. And we’re going to celebrate it."
Trump has long questioned why American exceptionalism is not celebrated in a Victory Day-like parade that other countries host.
Russia's Vladimir Putin has called for a Victory Day, three-day ceasefire in its war with Ukraine.