Fact check: Which presidents have attended Army birthday parades in the past?

1. Summary of the results

Based on the analyses provided, several U.S. presidents have attended military parades and reviews throughout history, though specific information about Army birthday parades is limited. The sources confirm that President Donald Trump attended the U.S. Army's 250th anniversary celebration in 2025, including events at Fort Bragg and a military parade in Washington, D.C. ^{[1] [2] [3]}.

Historical precedents for presidential attendance at military events include:

• President Andrew Johnson held a "Grand Review of the Armies" in 1865 ^[4]
• President Dwight Eisenhower rode in a victory parade in Washington, D.C. after World War II ^[4]
• President George H.W. Bush attended a victory parade in 1991 after the first Persian Gulf War ^[4]

The sources note that early U.S. presidents, including Andrew Johnson, held military reviews ^[1], establishing a historical pattern of presidential participation in military ceremonies.

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The analyses reveal significant missing context regarding the distinction between different types of military events. While the sources provide examples of presidents attending military parades, most of these were victory parades following major conflicts rather than birthday celebrations ^[4]. The sources emphasize that Trump's military parade is "a U.S. outlier in peacetime" and that it is unusual for a president to attend a military parade outside of wartime ^{[1] [5]}.

Key missing information includes:

• Specific details about which presidents, if any, attended previous Army birthday celebrations
• The frequency and regularity of such presidential attendance
• The distinction between wartime victory parades and peacetime ceremonial events

The sources suggest that Trump's 2025 attendance at the Army's 250th birthday represents a relatively uncommon peacetime military parade ^{[1] [5]}, which provides important context for understanding the historical precedent.

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question does not contain explicit misinformation but lacks important contextual framing. By asking broadly about "Army birthday parades," the question fails to distinguish between different types of military ceremonies that presidents have attended throughout history.

The question potentially creates misleading expectations by:

• Implying that Army birthday parades are a regular or common presidential tradition
• Not acknowledging that most historical presidential military parade attendance occurred during wartime or post-conflict celebrations ^[4]
• Failing to recognize that peacetime military parades with presidential attendance are historically unusual ^{[1] [5]}

The framing could benefit from acknowledging the rarity of peacetime presidential military parade attendance and distinguishing between ceremonial birthday celebrations and victory parades following military conflicts.