[clevergirl]

Trump adores the pomp and circumstance of war’s vestiges. He craves a military parade and was crushed when the Pentagon told him the price tag for the parade he wanted to throw in downtown Washington would be too high even for his taste. He’d said the idea was to honor the troops, few of whom wanted it (they’re too busy for pageantry these days), though its real purpose—as was clear to the officers who’d rolled their eyes at the request—would have been to lavish garlands on himself as he stood on the dais, beaming, like the commissars on May Day in Red Square, as he inspected their ranks.

He knows nothing of war’s realities and, clearly, has no desire for enlightenment. Even a peripheral exposure might highlight his responsibility for what happens on the battlefields as well as the aftermath, and that would be unacceptable to a man who seems to treat his presidency as a big show judged by ratings, not consequences.