Lemon LIVE at 5 | That Parade Was So EMBARRASSING! - June 16th, 2025
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Good evening. I always say, I used to say good morning like this. Good evening. Hello. Welcome to Lemon Live at 5. Look at that. All boys club this evening. So glad that you guys are here. Look, the band is back together. Plus, we have some new members. And we are going to talk about all of the shit that happened this weekend. I think everybody on this panel thinks like the parade was a huge success. The crowds were... like just overflowing. I mean, it was just amazing. Donald Trump looked interested. Come on now. I think I might be in the wrong place. I think I joined the wrong line. All right. Let me tell you guys who we have here. So look, just real quick, let me just give you the quick introduction and we're going to get it.
Everybody's happy about this group. Look at their, all their favorites are here except for Michael Fanone. So the thing is Lemon Nation, Lemon Nation. Welcome to the Lemon Nation guys. Okay. So that was embarrassing. That's what people are saying. Trump's $45 million military birthday parade was supposed to be a big triumphant flex, a show of force, unity, and magamite, right? Well, there were empty chairs, low energy, a sea of confused vibes and cringy optics. And tonight, we're going to break it all down for you, the fallout, the failure, and what this says about the state of the Trump movement. So we're joined by a couple of friends, two friends of the show. And that is Michael Fanone, a dear friend of mine, Jolly Good Ginger, a dear new friend of mine.
And then we're going to talk about both of them are very outspoken. Also joining us today is Matt Gordon is a retired Marine. Rigg is retired from the U.S. Army. And we're glad to have you all here. Yes, and gentlemen, all of you, Jolly, Rig, Matt, thank you for your service. Michael Fanone, thank you for your service as a police officer. Okay, so... Let's hear what I just want to show the folks. This is what we did this weekend. Check out some of the stuff that we did this weekend because it is it went viral online. The show was fantastic. I was talking to these guys. I couldn't believe network quality show. Put it up there, Andy. I mean, it was me. It was a Joy Reed and Jim Acosta. We were all here. If you miss this coverage.
You missed the coverage of we didn't cover the parade. We actually covered the protests and we didn't pretend that it was somehow normal and there was no false equivalence. This was unheard of what Donald Trump did. Now, let me just preface this by saying we love the army. We celebrate the army. This is not about the 250th anniversary of the army, but because Donald Trump made this about himself. Right? We have, it was, that's why people are talking about it. Now, this is what, over on Two Way, you remember Sean Spicer? Let me remind you guys who Sean Spicer is. Now, let's go back to the beginning from 2016 or 2017 and show the old Sean Spicer. Remember the Sean Spicer? Go.
Photographs of the inaugural proceedings were intentionally framed in a way, in one particular tweet, to minimize the enormous support that had gathered on the National Mall. This was the first time in our nation's history that floor coverings have been used to protect the grass in the mall. That had the effect of highlighting any areas where people were not standing, while in years past, the grass eliminated this visual. This is also the first time that fencing and magnetometers went as far back on the wall, preventing hundreds of thousands of people from being able to access the mall as quickly as they had in inaugurations past. Inaccurate numbers involving crowd size were also tweeted.
What happened at Trump's $45 million military birthday parade and why was it called embarrassing?
No one had numbers because the National Park Service, which controls the National Mall, does not put any out. This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period. both in person and around the globe. Even the New York Times printed a photograph showing a misrepresentation of the crowd in the original tweet in their paper, which showed the full extent of the support, depth, and crowd and intensity that existed. All right, that's it.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:13–3:51
2
What happened at Trump's $45 million military birthday parade and why was it called embarrassing?
3:51–11:13
3
How did Sean Spicer and pro-Trump media defend the parade crowd size claims?
11:13–39:09
4
Did soldiers intentionally march out of step as a silent protest during the parade?
39:09–55:48
5
How did social media clips like the 'squeaky tank' and sleepy Trump shape public reaction?
55:48–1:08:35
6
Why do veterans on the panel say the parade felt politicized and poorly executed?
1:08:35–1:08:40
7
How could the $45M parade spending have been used for veterans’ needs instead?
1:08:40–1:11:13
Speakers
3 identifiedMore from The Don Lemon Show
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