Fact Check: Did Joe Biden approve large-scale military parade for Army's 250th anniversary?

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump attended the US Army's 250th Anniversary Grand Military Parade and Celebration on June 14, which also coincided with his 79th birthday, in Arlington and Washington, DC.

During the event, he also delivered a speech where he praised the US Army as the "greatest, fiercest and bravest fighting force" at the end of a grand display of military might, according to CNN. 

Following this, a post circulated online claiming that former president Joe Biden's administration approved a large-scale military parade celebrating US Army's 250th anniversary. But is there any truth to this? Let us find out below. 

Claim: Joe Biden approved large-scale military parade for US Army's 250th anniversary 

Following the US Army's 250th anniversary, a post claimed that former president Joe Biden's administration first approved the military parade held during Trump's second term on June 14, 2025. 

The post went viral across X, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

The claims shared an image alleging that the Army first filed a permit application for a "grand parade" in June 2024, when Biden was still in office.

An X user wrote, "I need all the haters to explain how "Trump's Parade" designed to satisfy his "weak, fragile ego" was already in the works BEFORE election day."

Similarly, a Facebook user wrote, "Just a reminder: the military parade was created to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S.Army--the men and women who have given their lives so we could maintain our freedoms. The U.S. Army petitioned President Joe Biden in 2024 to organize the parade this year, which he then approved."

Fact Check: The viral claim is partly true and partly false

The claim circulated online is a mixture of true and false information, according to Snopes.

The US Army Military District of Washington did file a permit application for a festival celebrating the Army's 250th birthday in June 2024 during the Biden administration, per the fact-checking outlet.

However, the Army's 2024 permit application described a festival, not a parade, with a maximum of only 300 military personnel and civilians in attendance.

Meanwhile, a separate permit for a much larger celebration, which had a military parade, was filed under Trump's administration in March 2025.

Both the festival and the parade took place in celebration of the Army's 250th birthday on June 14, the outlet reported.

Mike Litterst, a spokesperson for the National Mall and Memorial Parks under the National Parks Service, told Snopes, "There were two separate permitted events celebrating the Army's 250th birthday on the National Mall that took place on Saturday, June 14, 2025."

"The first was a festival on the Mall, for which an application was submitted on June 13, 2024; the second was the military parade, which submitted an application on March 30, 2025," Litterst wrote in an email.

Donald Trump's lavish parade becomes one to remember

The US Army commemorated its 250th anniversary with a festival and parade on June 14, which was also Trump's 79th birthday.

The event had around 6,600 soldiers, along with around 150 vehicles and over 50 aircraft taking part, CBS News reported.

Meanwhile, Army officials estimated that the entire festival and parade could cost between $25 million and $45 million. However, they did not disclose the cost before the parade was added to the schedule.

The parade started at 6 pm, half an hour earlier than the allotted time. The parade route ran alongside the National Mall, on Constitution Avenue from 23rd Street NW to 15th Street NW, starting near the Lincoln Memorial and ending near the White House.

Interestingly, the last time DC hosted a military parade was in 1991, to mark the end of the Gulf War. It featured around 8,000 service members, and about 200,000 people watched the parade.