Trump's military parade not good use of money: poll

NEW YORK, June 12 (Xinhua) -- As Washington prepares for a military parade this weekend to honor the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, a new survey found that U.S. adults are more likely to approve than disapprove of President Donald Trump's decision to hold the festivities, which officials have said will cost tens of millions of taxpayer dollars.

"But about 6 in 10 Americans also say that Saturday's parade is 'not a good use' of government money, including the vast majority of people, 78 percent, who neither approve nor disapprove of the parade overall," The Associated Press (AP) on Thursday cited the poll from The AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

The survey found that about 4 in 10 U.S. adults "somewhat" or "strongly" approve of the parade, while about 3 in 10 "somewhat" or "strongly" disapprove. About 3 in 10 neither approve nor disapprove.

"Featuring hundreds of military vehicles and aircraft and thousands of soldiers, the celebration on Saturday, which also happens to be Trump's birthday, has grown extensively in scope and size since Army planners started working on a festival two years ago to mark the military branch's anniversary," noted the report.

Besides a military parade, which Trump had unsuccessfully pushed for during his first term, there will also be concerts, fireworks, NFL players, fitness competitions and displays all over the National Mall for daylong festivities.