This week President Trump will make history when he becomes the first sitting President to attend the NYC Veterans Day Parade.
Shocking to believe that could even be possible, but it is.
Take a look:
The history is made even worse when you consider the Epoch Times reports that veterans have invited the sitting president every year for 25 years and President Trump will become the ONLY one to ever attend.
But I bet you didn't know the story of when then-citizen Donald J. Trump saved the Veterans Day Parade from the brink of bankruptcy back in 1995.
I didn't, until I just read about it today.
Check this out....
Here's the amazing story, from the Daily Caller:
President Donald Trump will lead New York City’s 100th annual Veterans Day Parade next week, becoming the first sitting president to accept the honor, the event’s organizers announced Wednesday.
But while Trump will be making history Monday as he attends the parade, an offer the United Veterans War Council has made to every president since 1985, his involvement as a citizen with the annual Veterans Day event dates back to 1995 when he saved the event from dire financial straits.
Less than three months before the 1995 Veterans Day parade, in mid-August, organizers had just $1.21 in the event’s bank account after receiving nothing from the 200 corporations, including military contractors, they had reached out to for financial support, The New York Times reported in 1995.
“Zippo, dada, zilch,” the 1995 parade’s executive director, Tom Fox, told The NYT. “Nothing from Northrup, United Technologies, none of them. To me, it’s a sin.”
It was at that point then-businessman Trump stepped in and saved the event by contributing between $325,000 and $375,000, parade organizer Vincent McGowan told CNN in 2016.
Trump’s contribution unleashed a windfall of donations to the parade’s organizers. While the parade’s budget was ultimately reduced from $2.9 million to $2.4 million, The NYT reported, the show was able to go on.
Trump had also requested to be named the grand marshal of the 1995 parade in exchange for his contribution, a move that had reportedly angered some veterans at the time, but McGowan told CNN that Trump was never given the honor because he was not a veteran.
McGowan could not be reached for comment, but a spokesman for the United Veterans War Council told the Daily Caller News Foundation that CNN’s reporting in 2016 that Trump had saved the 1995 Veterans Day Parade was accurate.
Trump’s donation to help the 1995 parade followed a $1 million contribution he made in 1985 to help fund the construction of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Plaza in New York City.
As a presidential candidate in 2016, Trump donated $1 million to the Marine Corps Law-Enforcement Foundation, a charity that provides educational services to the children of fallen Marines and police officers, CNN reported.
Bill White, a co-producer of the 2019 Veterans Day Parade, recalled on “Fox & Friends” Wednesday how Trump saved the 1995 parade.
“[T]he parade was in difficult financial straits, and the president of the United States — then ‘The Donald’ — no questions asked, just said, ‘Yes, I will do it,'” White said.
“He wrote a ginormous check, saved the Veterans Day Parade,” White said. “He has been a friend to our veterans for many, many, many years … We are so grateful to our president. We have a great commander-in-chief. There’s going to be 30,000 veterans, 400 military units … and it’s our 100th anniversary.”
The NY Post confirms the story:
President Trump will be the first president to kick off New York City’s Veterans Day Parade, the White House announced Wednesday.
Trump will address the 100th Annual Opening Ceremony of the parade on Monday and then will lay a wreath at the Eternal Light Memorial at Madison Square Park.
As a private citizen, Trump stepped up to raise or donate large sums of money when the parade was struggling. The New York Times reported that in 1995 Trump agreed to give $200,000 and wanted to be named parade grand marshal in return, though it appears he never held that honor.
In 1985, Trump also made a $1 million donation to create a Vietnam Veterans Memorial at 55 Water St.
“The President has been great supporter of our veterans and indeed this parade here in New York City for more than 25 years,” said Bill White, 2019 Veteran’s Day Parade co-producer. “What he is doing now as president with regard to veterans choice, funding our military, and holding them and their families in the highest regard is truly extraordinary. He is loved by our veterans for sure.”
The 100th annual tribute parade is hosted by the United War Veterans Council. The president of the United States is traditionally invited to attend the annual event, but Trump is believed to be the only one to personally accept.
“This is a day when we put politics aside to focus on honoring our veterans, and to re-commit ourselves as a community to providing them with the services they have earned, the services they deserve and, for many, the services they were denied,” Doug McGowan, chairman of the United War Veterans Council Board, said. “We thank and commend President Trump for leading that effort on this Centennial, and we acknowledge his historic support for our activities here in New York City.”
Trump’s visit will be the first time in more than a decade a president spent Veterans Day in the Big Apple. In 2008, President Bush commemorated Veterans Day in New York City on the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum. And in 2001 — two months after the 9/11 attacks — Bush spoke at a Veterans Day prayer breakfast in New York and attended a somber ceremony at Ground Zero.
But often presidents honor Veterans Day by laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.
Trump caught heat last year for staying in the White House and making calls on Veterans Day instead of heading to Arlington. “I should have done that,” Trump told Fox News Sunday in a moment of regret.
Trump spent his first Veterans Day as president overseas in Vietnam in 2017 where he met with veterans there.
President Bill Clinton went to Arlington Cemetery all eight years of his presidency. President Obama missed the wreath laying twice at Arlington for travel in South Korea and China over Veterans Day.
Trump recently bid adieu to New York City and named Mar-a-Lago his permanent residence. But the former New Yorker will stick around after the parade for a speech at the Economic Club on Tuesday.
Trump won’t be marching in the parade after his opening ceremony speech. But Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger will serve as honorary grand marshal and will lead a contingent of Marines up Fifth Avenue.
The five other grand marshals represent five generations of service from World War II to the Iraq war, including Herschel “Woody” Williams, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his service in the Marine Corps in World War II.
Fox News confirms as well:
"In 1993, almost 25 years ago, the parade was in difficult financial straits, and the president of the United States - then [known as] 'The Donald' - no questions asked, just said, 'Yes, I will do it,'" he said.
"He wrote a ginormous check, saved the Veterans Day Parade. He was honored at the Pentagon way back then," White continued. "He has been a friend to our veterans for many, many, many years... We are so grateful to our president. We have a great commander-in-chief. There's going to be 30,000 veterans, 400 military units... and it’s our 100th anniversary."
Every year, for 25 years, veterans have extended an open invitation to the sitting president to attend, but Trump is the first one to commit to making an actual appearance.
Proudly Support Trump!
The exact same hat our President wears!
Only while they last....
Join the conversation!
Please share your thoughts about this article below. We value your opinions, and would love to see you add to the discussion!