CNN host Don Lemon on Tuesday asked one of the guests on his show whether there would be nuclear weapons at President Donald Trump's requested military parade in Washington, D.C.
"Talking about the cost of this parade and where—there would be tanks, right? Lemon asked retired Gen. James Marks, now a CNN military analyst. "And would there be nuclear weapons, like some countries? I mean, would it simply be whatever President Trump wants it to be?"
"No. I find it a bit difficult to even talk about the details of what this parade would look like because I'm of the opinion, very firmly of the opinion, that it's a total waste of time," Marks responded in a clip flagged by NewsBusters.
"It felt silly asking you like is this really—if this really would happen like we're discussing it as if—and maybe it would. Do you think it would?" Lemon asked.
"It wouldn't look like a parade that we see in Pyongyang, certainly. It wouldn't look like a parade that we used to see when the Soviet Union would roll their massive military across Red Square," Marks said. "It would look like a bunch of great Americans who were probably feeling a bit embarrassed that they were required to do this marching down Pennsylvania Avenue."
"It's simply unnecessary," Marks added. "The military is about the served, not those who serve."
Lemon's segment came hours after the Washington Post reported that Trump told Pentagon leaders last month that he wants to hold a military parade in the nation's capital.
"The marching orders were: I want a parade like the one in France," a military official told the Post.
A White House official said that plans are still in the "brainstorming" stage and "there's really no meat on the bones."
"The president wants to do something that highlights the service and sacrifice of the military and have a unifying moment for the country," the official added.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that Trump asked the Pentagon to "explore" the idea, while Pentagon spokesman Charlie Summers said the president asked for a parade but the planning process is in its "infancy," according to CNN.