President Donald Trump has directed the Pentagon to plan a military parade in Washington similar to the one in France during its annual Bastille Day celebration, a White House national security official confirmed Tuesday evening.

Trump was impressed last year when he was the special guest of French President Emmanuel Macron for Bastille Day festivities, including a military parade in Paris.

He floated the idea of a military parade during a meeting with Macron last year.

“We’re going to have to try and top it,” he said then. “It was really a beautiful thing to see. It was really so well done. We’re actually thinking about Fourth of July having a really great parade to show our military strength.”

Soon after reports of the Trump-ordered planning surfaced Tuesday evening, critics of the president took to Twitter, contending his direction revealed his authoritarian tendencies.

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