The parade was the spectacle event Trump had long wanted. It also helped sparked the largest mass opposition to him since his inauguration 145 days earlier.

Sen. Rand Paul criticized the June 14 military parade, arguing that it was too expensive and “glorified” weapons.

Palantir, the data analysis and technology firm whose contracts with the federal government are expanding, and Coinbase, a cryptocurrency firm that donated to the president’s inauguration, also sponsored the event. Oracle, a database company whose co-founder is a close friend of Mr. Trump’s, received a shout-out on Saturday as a sponsor.

The parade, honoring the Army’s long-planned 250th anniversary celebration and coinciding with Trump’s 79th birthday, is set to step off from the Lincoln Memorial under the threat of stormy weather in Washington and protests around the country tied to a turbulent week of immigration enforcement that has involved military deployment in Los Angeles.

Tanks and thousands of troops will soon take to Washington, D.C., streets for the Army's 250th anniversary on President Donald Trump's birthday.

Nearly 2 in 3 U.S. adults — 64% — oppose the use of government funds for this weekend's military parade in Washington, D.C., celebrating the Army's 250th birthday, according to new data from the NBC News Decision Desk Poll,

U.S. Capitol Police arrested about 60 veterans Friday evening during a protest of the appearance of troops in an Saturday’s Army celebration in Washington and at immigration protests in Los Angeles.

President Donald Trump stands in review and salutes Army troops as they march to 'Army Goes Rolling Along' at the 250th Anniversary of the U.S. Army Grand Military Parade in Washington, D.C.