Donald Trump has canceled his proposed military parade for Veterans Day this year, saying the estimated cost given by the Washington, D.C. city government was "ridiculously high."

The Hill:

President Trump on Friday said that he was canceling plans for a military parade, blaming a $92 million price tag and local politicians in Washington, D.C.

The cost of the parade had appeared to be escalating, with reports on Thursday estimating it would be $80 million more than previously estimated at a time of rising debt. 

Trump said "local politicians" in D.C. were responsible for the cost in announcing the cancelation, thought he offered no specific evidence. 

"The local politicians who run Washington, D.C. (poorly) know a windfall when they see it.  When asked to give us a price for holding a great celebratory military parade, they wanted a number so ridiculously high that I cancelled it.  Never let someone hold you up!  I will instead attend the big parade already scheduled at Andrews Air Force Base on a different date, & go to the Paris parade, celebrating the end of the War, on November 11th," Trump wrote.

"Maybe we will do something next year in D.C. when the cost comes WAY DOWN," he added.  "Now we can buy some more jet fighters!"

D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser bragged about her accomplishment:

Yup, I’m Muriel Bowser, mayor of Washington DC, the local politician who finally got thru to the reality star in the White House with the realities ($21.6M) of parades/events/demonstrations in Trump America (sad). https://t.co/vqC3d8FLqx

— MurielBowser (@MurielBowser) August 17, 2018

It's hard to discern why the price tag for the parade skyrocketed, although given the obvious animus of the D.C. government toward Trump, those involved may have been demanding more money than they had to.  But it's also clear that the Pentagon initially lowballed its own estimate.  The bottom line is that many high-ranking Pentagon officers opposed the parade from the start and may have tried to place their own roadblocks in the way of getting it done.

Trump originally got the idea for a military parade when he watched France's Bastille Day parade.  No doubt France's military is much better at planning ceremonial displays than it is at actually...well, fighting wars.  That said, if an American parade could have been planned for a reasonable amount, I have no doubt a majority of citizens would have appreciated it.