People think they’ve spotted ‘sad and pathetic’ detail in Trump’s military parade speech that’s left them ’embarrassed’

Donald Trump gave a speech during a military parade held over the weekend in Washington, D.C., and people are now reacting online not to what he said, but to how it was presented. The parade was meant to celebrate both Trump’s 79th birthday and the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. It featured tanks, aircraft from different eras, paratroopers, and more than 6,000 soldiers in historic uniforms marching through the capital.

Trump arrived with First Lady Melania Trump, members of his family, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. As he walked in, songs like “Hail to the Chief” and “Happy Birthday” were played. The parade aimed to tell the history of the American Army—from the Revolutionary War to the present.

At the end of the parade, Trump gave an eight-minute speech, where he said, “Every other country celebrates their victories. It’s about time America did too.” He added, “We’re the hottest country in the world right now. If you threaten the American people, our soldiers are coming for you.”

The speech was shown on various TV networks across the U.S. and around the world, but it’s the Fox News broadcast that’s getting attention. Some viewers on Reddit claim that Fox News added artificial applause and cheering to make it sound like the crowd was more excited than it really was. One person called it “sad and pathetic,” while another said it made them embarrassed for the whole country. Others pointed out that the fake clapping sounded louder than the band and was obviously turned down like someone was adjusting the volume.

A few people disagreed, saying that the cheering could still be heard on other network streams and that the difference might just be due to how the audio was set up on Fox’s side. It’s unclear if the clapping was added or if it was just picked up differently by microphones, but it has led to a lot of debate.

The White House communications director, Steven Cheung, claimed over 250,000 supporters attended the parade despite the bad weather. However, many doubt that number. Media outlets like the Associated Press, The New York Times, and even Fox News suggested that the actual crowd was much smaller than the White House claimed.

On top of all this, the event faced protests. A group called “No Kings” organized a counter-march in Philadelphia to challenge the parade. They criticized the birthday celebration as expensive, unnecessary, and un-American, saying they wanted to show the difference between Trump’s event and what they described as a real, grassroots movement.

So while the parade was meant to show power and unity, the reaction has been mixed. Between questions about the crowd size, protest backlash, and whether the applause was even real, Trump’s birthday celebration didn’t go quite as smoothly as planned.