WASHINGTON 鈥 Eight years after President Donald Trump was dazzled by a grand military parade down the Champs-脡lys茅es in Paris, he is finally getting a chance to try to top the spectacle.
His long-delayed dream is expected to be realized Saturday with an extravaganza of American military might featuring tanks and other armored vehicles rolling through the nation's capital, thousands of soldiers marching the streets and military aircraft flying overhead. In a final flourish, an elite parachute team is to jump from above the White House, land near Trump and hand him an American flag.
"I think it's going to be great," Trump said this week. "We're going to celebrate our country for a change."

People take photos with a tank parked on the National Mall on Thursday聽during preparations for an upcoming military parade in Washington.聽
For Trump, a media-attuned real estate developer who was a reality television star and beauty pageant owner, it's a chance to flex his skills as a showman. But the display of military might also comes as Trump increasingly flexes the powers of his office, including with the deployment of thousands of National Guard troops to respond to protests in Los Angeles over his immigration crackdown.
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The Republican president's desire for a grand military parade was scuttled in his first term over concerns about the high cost for the event.聽
Trump has dismissed concerns about the cost, about what message the display of military power sends and about the fact that it will take place on his 79th birthday.
One potential obstacle the president can't control is the weather. There's a chance the parade could be interrupted by thunderstorms. The White House has said it will go on rain or shine, but it could be delayed by lightning.
"Doesn't matter," he said Thursday night at the White House. "Doesn't affect the tanks at all. Doesn't affect the soldiers. They're used to it."

French President Emmanuel Macron, right, and U.S. President Donald Trump attend the traditional Bastille Day military parade July 14, 2017, in Paris.聽
The parade was initially conceived as a July 4 event, but Trump found occasion this year to add it onto a long-planned celebration of the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army that coincides with Flag Day and Trump's birthday.
The White House has not offered details about when and how the administration first began pushing this year to turn Trump's parade vision into reality, but the president has been briefed regularly on its progress and made suggestions about details of the plans, according to press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Private donations from companies like Lockheed Martin, Amazon and UFC are helping defray some of the costs, but the government still is expected to spend $25 million to $45 million.
Some members of Congress questioned the high cost at a time when the administration pushes for deep spending cuts throughout the government.
Defense officials and the White House justified the cost as a worthy expense to pay tribute to service members and inspire patriotism, and Trump has called it "a great expenditure."

Tanks parade past President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron on聽July 14, 2017, during Bastille Day parade in Paris.聽
Outside of wartime, there isn't much of a tradition of military parades in the U.S., with some critics likening the planned pageantry to the jingoistic displays seen in North Korea.
But Trump's inspiration was the 2017 Bastille Day procession he attended in France, which he declared at the time to be "magnificent" and "one of the greatest parades I have ever seen."
"We're going to have to try and top it," he said then.
With the parade now set to occur on his 79th birthday, Trump said he is "taking a little heat" over the overlapping occasions.聽
Trump requested aircraft and military equipment that capture the might of the military, according to the White House. He is expected to view the synchronized flyovers, along with the processions of tanks, historical reenactments and marching soldiers, from a special reviewing stand.
Toward the end of the day's events, he is scheduled to deliver remarks during a nationally televised ceremony capped by fireworks.

Crews set up an archway on the National Mall on Thursday聽during preparations for an upcoming military parade in Washington.聽
One of Trump's favorite musical acts, "God Bless the USA" singer Lee Greenwood, is on tap to perform. Greenwood's song is one of the president's preferred walk-on tunes at events. The singer has performed in person at campaign rallies, and Trump even partnered with Greenwood on a business deal to sell "God Bless the USA" Bibles for $59.99.
Though the president has blown past the logistical and financial barriers that stopped his parade in the past, the pageantry still is expected to draw pushback.
With predictions of as many as 200,000 attendees, the Secret Service is preparing for protests by erecting 18 miles of anti-scale fencing and deploying drones to the city's skies to keep watch.
Protests to counter the event were being planned, including a march to the White House. Immigration-related clashes between protesters and law enforcement in Los Angeles spread to other cities this week and heightened the possibility of tensions in the Washington area.
The president this week said that if protesters show up at the parade, "they will be met with very big force."
It was not clear what he meant by that remark, but it added to the alarm of critics who claim the policies of Trump's administration and the planned lavish display of militarism smack of authoritarian politics.

A woman walks past security fencing set up on the National Mall on Thursday聽during preparations for an upcoming military parade聽 in Washington.聽
Organizers of "No Kings" protests planned demonstrations around the country Saturday to counter an event they contend is meant to feed Trump's ego.
But they're not planning to hold an event in Washington. Instead, their flagship event will be in Philadelphia, and organizers said they hope to draw attention away from what they paint as a strongman spectacle designed for Trump's birthday, like a king.
"The flag doesn't belong to President Trump. It belongs to us," the "No Kings" website says.