Trump Hears Grandiose Inauguration Day Pitch: Parade Up Fifth Avenue Followed By Helicopter Ride To DC

The New York Times reports:

President-elect Donald J. Trump kicked around ideas for his inauguration in his office at Trump Tower on Tuesday with two of his oldest friends, Mark Burnett and Thomas Barrack Jr.

The ideas spilled out from Mr. Burnett, a well-regarded showman best known for producing “The Apprentice”: a parade up Fifth Avenue, a helicopter ride to Washington from New York that could hold the attention of millions of people expected to watch from around the world.

Mr. Trump recalled the conversation Wednesday morning to an audience of donors, lobbyists and supporters at Cipriani 42nd Street during a fund-raiser to help support his transition operation.

The details offered a brief glimmer of a sprawling inauguration, full of the kind of showmanship for which Mr. Trump is famous, that could shake up what has become a relatively predictable affair for recent presidents. According to some of the people overseeing the events surrounding Mr. Trump’s swearing-in as the 45th president, they also bore little resemblance to reality.

In fact, they said, Mr. Trump’s celebration would be a relatively subdued affair — marked by Mr. Trump’s own touches, to be sure, but in the mold of past affairs.