Men are seen working
next to a Bradley Fighting Vehicle as preparations are made for the “Salute to
America” Fourth of July event at the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall in
Washington, D.C. on July 4, 2019.
NICHOLAS
KAMM/Getty Images
Russian news channel Rossiya 24 and the program 60 Minutes mocked the
military equipment that was on display as
laughably out of date and the parade itself as “low energy” and “weak,” according
to journalist Julia Davis. The state-run media
claimed the machinery was held together with “adhesive tape” and covered with
“peeling paint,” according
to the Washington Post.
A co-host of the show
said that the tanks on display were “used during World War II and withdrawn
from service in 1957.”
Russian State-Run
Media Mocked trump's July 4 'Salute to America'
BY TARA LAW
JULY 6, 2019
(president ******,
spent millions of our hard earned tax dollars
used for
our 'National Parks'
to
make our country look foolish to the whole world
'one more time')!
Journalists on
Russian state-owned media were underwhelmed by trump’s Independence Day parade.
Commentators on
Russian news channel Rossiya
24 and the popular program 60 Minutes criticized the Washington, D.C. event for
showcasing older military machinery that they said looked like it was held
together with “adhesive tape” and covered with “peeling paint.”
Journalist Artem
Krasulin on Rossiya 24 pointed out that the machinery’s guns didn’t have
barrels, and that some of the weapons on display looked “battered.”
“Asked by
journalists why no new technology was brought to the center of Washington, the
Pentagon answered…. the White House requested these exact machines,” Krasulin
said.
On 60 Minutes, some of the commentators
chuckled as they watched Fox News clips discussing how the parade would remind
Americans that trump is “changing all of our lives.”
Commentators also
criticized the U.S. for lambasting Russian military parades, including the
country’s annual May 9 Victory Day celebration, which commemorates the Allied
victory over the Nazis. Critics have argued that President Vladimir Putin has
tried to co-opt the Allied victory to promote Russian power.
“trump declared
that the [American] military parade is democratic and beautiful, and we
remember that the Russian parade is totalitarian and terrible,” said journalist
Olga Skabeeva.
In the United
States, criticism of
the display has focused on the parade’s cost and a perception that the trump
seized on a nonpartisan celebration of the country for political ends.
trump, at least,
appears to have been pleased by the parade. Over the past few days, he’s
retweeted photos of the event and commentary praising the spectacle.