The grand military parade that President Donald Trump had been wanting for years barrelled down Constitution Avenue on Saturday with tanks, troops and a 21-gun salute, playing out against the counterpoint of protests across the country by those who decried the U.

For its 250th birthday, the Army put on the largest show of military might in the capital in more than three decades.

Trump and other officials watched the procession of soldiers and armored vehicles from a reviewing stand, but many people on the ground in Washington did not witness any of the show of force. Instead, they were treated to vivid demonstrations of the tensions inspired by Trump’s administration.