Most US adults say Trump's military parade is not a good use of money, a
new AP-NORC poll finds
[June 13, 2025]
By MEG KINNARD and LINLEY SANDERS
WASHINGTON (AP) — As Washington prepares for a military parade this
weekend to honor the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, a new survey
finds that U.S. adults are more likely to approve than disapprove of
President Donald Trump's decision to hold the festivities, which
officials have said will cost tens of millions of taxpayer dollars.
But about 6 in 10 Americans also say that Saturday's parade is “not a
good use” of government money, including the vast majority of people,
78%, who neither approve nor disapprove of the parade overall, according
to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs
Research.
The survey found that about 4 in 10 U.S. adults “somewhat” or “strongly”
approve of the parade, while about 3 in 10 “somewhat” or “strongly”
disapprove. About 3 in 10 neither approve nor disapprove.
Carol Sue Quillen, 69, of Live Oak, Florida, said she sees the parade as
a way to honor the country’s service members, who she said include her
late father — an Air Force test pilot killed on a helicopter training
mission when she was a baby — and her son-in-law, who serves in the
special forces.
“I don’t necessarily think we appreciate our military as much as we
should,” said Quillen, a retiree who described herself as a Trump
supporter — although she said the Republican president’s personality
“can be a bit overwhelming.”
“All branches should be celebrated for what they do,” Quillen said.
“That just boosts morale.”
Democrats and independents say parade is not good use of money
Featuring hundreds of military vehicles and aircraft and thousands of
soldiers, the celebration on Saturday, which also happens to be Trump’s
birthday, has grown extensively in scope and size since Army planners
started working on a festival two years ago to mark the military
branch's anniversary. Besides a military parade — which Trump had
unsuccessfully pushed for during his first term — there will also be
concerts, fireworks, NFL players, fitness competitions and displays all
over the National Mall for daylong festivities.
The Army expects as many as 200,000 people could attend and says putting
on the celebration will cost an estimated $25 million to $45 million.
Most Republicans, around two-thirds, approve of the event, and a similar
share sees it as a good use of money, but about one-third say it’s not a
good use of government funds.
Democrats overwhelmingly say the parade is not a good use of public
money, as do independents. And while about half of Democrats disapprove
of the parade, about half of independents neither approve nor
disapprove, suggesting that they may have heard less about it or have
less strong feelings about it generally.
Matt Wheeler, 40, called the display “extremely wasteful” and “a bit of
a performance” that “just sends a bad message” in terms of the overt
military display.
“The only other time I can think about this, it’s been in old throwbacks
to the USSR or things you see out of North Korea,” said Wheeler, who
works in nonprofit fundraising in Los Angeles and described himself as a
lifelong Democrat. “It’s a direction this administration is inclined to
move in that isn’t in line with what I thought our country really was.”
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The White House is seen beyond a stage ahead of an upcoming military
parade commemorating the Army's 250th anniversary and coinciding
with Donald Trump's 79th birthday, Wednesday, June 11, 2025, in
Washington (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Few think military spending is too low
Sam Walters, 45, who works in restaurants in Fort Worth, Texas,
described himself as a former conservative who now has more
libertarian leanings. Walters, who voted for Trump in last year's
election, said he appreciated that Trump had “really kind of stuck
to his guns” concerning many of the issues on which he campaigned,
assessing his second term so far as “a pretty good job.”
But when it comes to the military parade, Walters said he was
concerned about why so much additional funding was needed for
military-adjacent activities, given the country's overall defense
spending price tag.
“When they're getting hundreds of billions a year for funding, more
than for anything else, it seems kind of hard to justify them
spending extra for that,” Walters said, referencing the parade.
Americans are generally divided on whether the government is
devoting too much money to the military. About 3 in 10 say the
government is spending “too much” on the military, while a similar
share says the government is spending “too little.” About 4 in 10
say the government is spending “about the right amount.” Those
numbers are largely unchanged from an AP-NORC poll conducted in
January.
Trump's approval is unchanged
About 4 in 10 Americans approve of the way Trump is handling his job
as president, which is unchanged from an AP-NORC poll conducted last
month. The poll was conducted June 5-9, meaning the field period
began before protests started in Los Angeles over Trump’s
immigration crackdown and ended after the National Guard was
deployed but before active-duty Marines arrived in the city. It did
not include questions about the protests or military deployment.
Approval of his handling of immigration, at 46%, continues to be
higher than approval of his handling of the economy or trade
negotiations with other countries, which both landed at 38%.
Andrew Thomsen, 31, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, said that he has
voted for Trump in general elections and that he would “generally
approve” of the direction in which the country is headed.
Thomsen, who works in education, said that, while he appreciates any
intent of the parade and associated events “to celebrate those who
have given of themselves to the service of our protection,” he
wasn’t a fan of attempts to show off U.S. military might.
“If it is a march of rows and rows of members from our different
branches while showboating our tanks, missile systems, and other
equipment to show how strong we are, then I don’t support that,” he
said.
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The AP-NORC poll of 1,158 adults was conducted June 5-9, using a
sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which
is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin
of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 4 percentage
points.
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