Military parade or birthday party? Who are the giants sponsoring the U.S. military parade?

Deng Tong, Golden Finance

On June 14, 2025, U.S. President Trump held a parade to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. military, coincidentally on his 79th birthday. This parade is the largest in Washington in decades, with dozens of tanks and armored vehicles passing through the streets of Washington and nearly 7,000 soldiers participating. The parade even included a birthday celebration for Trump, with 21 gun salutes as he arrived and the crowd chanting “Happy Birthday to You.”

At the same time, protests against Trump have also occurred across the United States. People are holding signs that say “Trump must step down.”

Who sponsored this military parade? Did the military parade become the venue for Trump’s birthday party? Is Trump still popular with the public?

1. Who are the giants sponsoring this parade event?

According to reports, the president’s military parade cost as much as 45 million dollars.

According to the U.S. Army, 22 companies and foundations sponsored the Army’s 250th anniversary parade and celebration held at the National Mall. General Dynamics and USAA are the designated sponsors for this celebration, and many other businesses and nonprofit organizations are also involved, including: the Gary Sinise Foundation, Baird & Co., the Walmart Wounded Warrior Project, GOVX, Leonardo DRS, RTX, Lockheed Martin, Leidos, the Armed Forces Mutual Aid Association, Boeing, First Command, General Electric Aviation, T-Mobile, the George King Hotel, Intercontinental Hotels Group, and the NFL.

The nonprofit organization America250 Foundation, which is organizing the 50th anniversary celebration of the U.S. military, announced that the event has received sponsorship from Oracle, Lockheed Martin, UFC, Coinbase, Palantir, Amazon, Exiger, Scott’s Miracle Gro, Phorm Energy, and FedEx. The host even took a moment on site to specifically thank Coinbase, saying “our special sponsor Coinbase.” This is also the first time a cryptocurrency exchange has appeared at such a formal parade.

This military parade, although named to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, is actually criticized for being linked to Trump’s personal political image, and the technology sector believes that the funding for the event has triggered public relations risks and controversies.

2. Military Parade or Birthday Party?

Not only did the sponsorship issue spark controversy, but there is also much debate over the act of celebrating Trump’s birthday during the military parade.

The military parade was privately referred to by some government officials as “Trump’s Birthday Parade,” fulfilling the president’s long-held desire to hold a grand military display. The parade started from the Pentagon in Virginia, and the participating troops — commemorating the American Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the global war on terror — had to march approximately two and a half miles.

Trump held a swearing-in ceremony for 250 new recruits and veterans. Trump said, “Welcome to the United States Army, and I wish you a happy life. Thank you very much. I wish you a happy life.”

Vance pointed out in his speech: “June 14th is of course the birthday of the United States Army. It is also the birthday of the President of the United States. Happy birthday to Mr. President. This is also my wedding anniversary.”

The audience at the scene sang Happy Birthday to Trump near the stage.

Donald Trump has long been very concerned about the size of the crowd at his events, and he has repeatedly claimed that his first inauguration was the largest inauguration in American history.

But is this event really “big and beautiful”?

Not necessarily.

On one hand, as previously planned, on the day of the military parade, 2000 locations across the United States held the “No Kings” event to express anger towards the president and criticize Trump’s overreach of presidential power during his second term. About 20,000 people gathered in downtown Los Angeles, and despite law enforcement using non-lethal weapons in earlier protests and the president sending in troops to escalate the situation, they faced no obstacles.

At the protest site, congressional members, union leaders, and activists from places like New York, Philadelphia, and Houston delivered speeches to the crowd. People on site waved American flags and held up banners criticizing Trump.

Law enforcement largely did not intervene with the protesters for most of the day, but they launched tear gas in the Atlanta area and arrested 8 people.

On the other hand, the situation on the ground may not be satisfactory. It is reported that this event caused most of Washington D.C. to come to a standstill, with major roads closed, this event did not attract a large crowd of Trump supporters. On the contrary, supporters, active military personnel, curious locals, and spectators near the military camp occupied the designated streets for several blocks in front of the White House, with even some empty spaces.

In front of the central stage, a crowd comparable to a medium-sized concert gathered in front of a giant electronic display. Most of the lawn surrounding the Washington Monument is idle empty space.

“Despite the rock music playing on the television, the parade itself was eerily quiet. A video posted on X shows tanks grinding their way through a crowd that was almost completely silent, sounding like a shopping cart in desperate need of gas.”

3. Is Trump still popular among the public?

According to a poll conducted by NBC News Decision Desk, Trump’s support for a second term remains at negative levels, and the general attitude towards his administration’s policies is similarly negative.

Negative emotions outweigh positive emotions

There are serious differences among people on immigration and border security issues, and opinions on two other key matters during Trump’s second term—tariffs and government efficiency—are more negative.

A majority (55%) of adults over the age of 18 disapprove of Trump’s style of doing things, while 45% approve.

Although the overall figures remain stable, there are slight signs that public enthusiasm for the president has waned, with the proportion of adults strongly supporting the president having decreased slightly since April. The proportion of those strongly opposing the president has also decreased slightly; however, in this poll, strong negative sentiment still outweighs positive sentiment.

When asked about their feelings towards the president and his actions, the number of “Make America Great Again” supporters who chose “excited” has also decreased since April. 37% of respondents expressed that they feel excited about the actions taken by the Trump administration so far in its term, down from 46% in April.

How do public opinions on immigration issues that Trump is most concerned about?

Trump’s overall data on immigration issues is similar to the public opinion polls from April, but Republicans, MAGA-supporting Republicans, and independents are now more likely to express strong approval of Trump’s handling of border security and immigration.

For related content, please refer to the Golden Finance article “The Continued Fermentation of the Los Angeles Riots: What is the Impact on the US Economy and the Crypto Market?”

In recent months, the Trump administration’s immigration policies have overlapped with its higher education policies, especially regarding foreign students across the United States. Polls show that the majority of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of higher education issues, with 56% disapproving of Trump’s measures regarding higher education, and 42% of them expressing strong opposition.

However, Trump’s supporters strongly approve of his handling of universities. Supporters of “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) overwhelmingly expressed agreement, with 72% stating they strongly agree. The majority of Republicans also expressed approval, with 57% strongly agreeing with Trump’s handling of the issue.

The public has given negative evaluations of Trump’s handling of several other issues, including tariffs (40% in favor, 60% opposed), cost of living and inflation (39%-61%), and efforts related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (44%-56%).

Are people still satisfied with DOGE?

Since April, Americans’ evaluation of Musk’s efforts to use DOGE to reduce government spending and the size of government has slightly declined.

In a recent survey, 44% of people believe the plan was successful or partially successful, down from 47% previously, while 56% believe the plan failed or partially failed, up from 52% previously.

Currently, only 49% of supporters believe that DOGE’s efforts have been successful, down from 66% in April.

People seem to be a bit disheartened with DOGE, which is related to DOGE’s actual performance and the “breakup” between Musk and Trump.

In summary, the public is not very satisfied with the performance of the tariff and government efficiency departments, is relatively satisfied with the handling of immigration issues, but does not approve of the handling of study abroad issues. Overall, the public’s overall support for Trump is not as strong as before. In the current context of ongoing tariff issues, immigration issues, and the Israel-Palestine conflict, Trump’s approval rating is still facing certain challenges.

Trump may be a person similar to Musk—always needing to shine in the crowd and remain active. Thus, we can’t help but ask: Is the presentation of the military parade alongside the birthday party a coincidence or a necessity? Is Coinbase’s sponsorship of the parade a routine operation or tied to personal interests? Will the call for “No Kings” wake up the “understanding king” who has just been in office for more than six months?

Sources: Jinse Finance, Jinshi Data, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, BBC, Rolling Stone, NBC, Lianhe Zaobao, etc.