WATCH: President Trump arrives on stage for military parade

The grand military parade that President Trump had been wanting for eight years kicked off Saturday with tanks, troops and a 21-gun salute.

The Republican president, on his 79th birthday, sat on a special viewing stand south of the White House to watch the display of American military might, which began early as light rain fell and dark clouds loomed.

It’s a procession Trump tried to make happen in his first term after seeing such an event in Paris in 2017, but the plans never came together until this year, when it was added to an event recognizing the Army’s 250th anniversary.