Says, President Trumps vision of soldiers marching and tanks rolling down the boulevards of washington is moving closer to reality in the pentagon and white house, where Officials Say they have begun to plan a Grand Military Parade later this year showcasing the might of Americas Armed forces. Trump has long mused publicly and privately about wanting such a parade, but a January 18th Meeting between trump and top generals in the pentagons tank, a room reserved for topsecret discussions, marked a Tipping Point according to two officials briefed on the planning. So theres where we begin. Lets bring in our leadoff panel on a tuesday night. Phillip rucker. White house bureau chief for the Washington Post. Shannon pettypiece for bloomberg news. And the Pool Reporter on duty at the white house today. So, todd, id like to begin with you. Talk about the president s demeanor, the kind of Bluster Index compared to other days
youve spent on the beat and the mood around him in the west wing. It wa
welcome back everyone. south korea is calling for complete denuclearization and lasting peace on the korean peninsula just hours after north korea staged its latest grand military parade. on the 19th anniversary of the founding korean people revolutionary army, kim jong-un, vowed to strengthen and develop his nuclear force, quote, at the fastest possible speed. and this all comes after a flurry of missiles by north korea at this year. and warnings from south korea and the u.s. that pyongyang could resume nuclear weapons test for the first time in five years. cnn s blake joins me now from tokyo with more on this. good to see you again blake. so, what more are you learning?
complete denuclearization and lasting peace on the korean peninsula just hours after north korea staged its latest grand military parade. on the 90th anniversary of the founding of the korean revolutionary army, kim jong-un vowed to strengthen and develop his nuclear force, quote, at the fastest possible speed. this all comes after a flurry of missile tests by north korea this year, and warnings from south korea and the u.s. that pyongyang could resume nuclear weapons tests for the first time in five years. cnn s blake joins me now from tokyo for more on all this. good to see you, blake. what more are you learning? reporter: you know, rosemary, north korea s highly anticipated parade celebrating the founding of the army was held last night. and according to north korean state-run media kcna, both kim jong-un and his wife were there to see it.
said to his or her colleague that i explained that such support would be out of guidelines. i m reluctant to produce a list of military vehicles that we might be held to. so the trump inaugural s attempt to roll freaking tanks and missile launchers down pennsylvania avenue behind the piano guys and the baton twirlers, right, they they denied they asked for those things, but they did ask for those things. and we know, from open source reporting, that that caused a pentagon freak-out, which probably explains why, in, that never happened for the trump inauguration. but the president really liked this idea of parading big military equipment in his own honor. so, they tried again last year. the president last year ordered the pentagon to start planning a grand military parade, a show of american military might, for the fourth of july. or, maybe for memorial day or for veterans day or any day that ends in y when trump can be in town. just get me tanks.
money would be better spent to support veterans causes and to support veterans health care needs. and of course it s worth pointing out this is a compromise arrangement. the president initially wanted a grand military parade on the same massive scale he s seen in france, russia, north korea. but the cost was just way too high. what do you make of a u.s. president who wants to display america s military hardware in this way? well, i think he s missing the point that previous presidents have really been able to use to their advantage. america has been known for wielding its power fairly quietly until it really has to go out and perform a military mission. in world war ii a lot of people i spoke with in enemy states of the united states would tell us when the germans marched through their territories you could hear the boots marching on the cobblestones. when the americans came through you couldn t hear them because