Military parade kick offs in US capital as protesters decry Trump

People hold a large American flag at Freedom Plaza before a parade commemorating the US Army’s 250th anniversary, coinciding with President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday, in Washington DC (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)

Tanks, troops and marching bands assembled in the US capital for a massive parade of American military power requested by President Donald Trump, a show that was met by thousands of Americans around the country displaying another kind of power: protest.

Hours before the parade honouring the Army’s 250th anniversary was set to start, demonstrators turned out in streets and parks around the nation to decry the Republican president as a dictator or would-be king.