Chinese media contrasts US pageantry and violence on Trump’s parade day

Donald Trump’s first large-scale military parade in decades has prompted Chinese commentators to compare and mock the contrast between the US president’s pageantry and the nationwide unrest sparked by his immigration policies.

The festivities in Washington on Saturday occurred on a day marked by protests around the nation that underscored the country’s deep divisions.

In China, some state media and online commentators declared Trump’s “America First” policy a failure in light of the mass demonstrations and law enforcement response, and said it reflected the United States’ “uncertain future”.

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“The parade reflects [Trump’s] urgency to proclaim that ‘America is great again’ … Yet, no matter how it’s staged, it only reinforces the sense that the halo of the United States is fading, and its deep-rooted institutional problems remain unresolved,” wrote the Beijing Daily, a state-affiliated publication. “Instead, it evokes deja vu of ‘the setting sun’s afterglow’ and ‘a past that cannot be reclaimed’.”

China News, another state-run outlet, added that the day symbolised how “democracy is struggling in the mud”.

“On this day, there are celebrations and protests … In 2025, the United States is moving towards an uncertain tomorrow – amid gunfire and slogans,” it wrote.

The three-hour parade in Washington, staged in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the US Army and coinciding with Trump’s birthday, featured soldiers marching while wearing a selection of uniforms dating back to the Revolutionary war, as well as displays of modern hardware and weaponry used in nearly every major US conflict since World War II.

Trump used the occasion to deliver a fiery speech that vowed that the US military would always protect American interests.

South China Morning Post