WSJ's senior political correspondent Molly Ball reports from the parade route, where vintage tanks and other military hardware are rolling down Constitution Avenue in Washington.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Grand military parade in DC marking US Army’s 250th birthday kicks off with tanks, troops and 21-gun salute.

The grand military parade that President Donald Trump had been wanting for years barreled down Constitution Avenue on Saturday with tanks, troops and a 21-gun salute.

The parade, honoring the Army’s long-planned 250th anniversary celebration and coinciding with Trump’s 79th birthday, is set to step off from the Lincoln Memorial under the threat of stormy weather in Washington and protests around the country tied to a turbulent week of immigration enforcement that has involved military deployment in Los Angeles.

The parade was the spectacle event Trump had long wanted. It also helped sparked the largest mass opposition to him since his inauguration 145 days earlier.

Coinciding with Trump's 79th birthday, the parade will feature tanks, bands and thousands of troops in honor of the Army’s 250th anniversary celebration.

President Trump is hosting a parade celebrating the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army on Saturday, bringing tanks and soldiers to the streets of Washington, D.C., for the capital's first major military parade in more than three decades.