Tanks in Washington ahead of Trump’s Fourth of July pageant

Battle tanks were seen on a train in Washington on Tuesday ahead of a controversial July Fourth celebration highlighting US military might that Democrats say Republican President Donald Trump may turn into a re-election campaign rally.

Amid questions about the cost and tone of the event, White House officials said Trump will avoid politics and stick to patriotic themes in his speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington on Thursday.

Reuters photographed M1 Abrams tanks and other armored vehicles atop flat rail cars in Washington on Tuesday morning, a sign of the military firepower that will be featured, differing significantly from past annual celebrations of the 1776 Declaration of Independence.

For decades, US presidents have kept a low profile during the event, which typically draws hundreds of thousands of people to Washington’s monument-lined National Mall for a nonpartisan concert and fireworks.

This year, Trump plans to speak at a military “Salute to America” that will feature military bands and flyovers from the US Navy’s Blue Angels and Air Force One, the modified Boeing 747 that transports US presidents.