Leon Panetta Predicts How Donald Trump Will Undermine Fourth Of July Bash

As the tanks moved into Washington D.C. for President Donald Trumps takeover of the capitals Fourth of July celebrations, former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said he believes Trumps attempted show of military might was not in keeping with what our country is all about.

Were the strongest military power on the face of the Earth and we have never had to display that power to the world in order to prove it, said Panetta, who served in the top defense role under President Barack Obama from 2011 to 2013.

On Tuesday night, Panetta told CNN s Anderson Cooper :

We know who we are, we know our strengths, and very frankly our view has always been that we should appreciate our liberties and our freedoms because in a democracy the most important thing is that we protect the values that our country is all about. That doesnt mean we have to roll tanks down the street or roll troops down the street because we know who we are. We appreciate those that serve, but most importantly, we are all part of one family when it comes to America.

Panetta said the celebrations will send a message that the U.S. was not celebrating the Fourth of July for what it is, rather we have a president whos trying somehow to emulate other authoritarian figures in the world that have to have these kind of parades in order to prove that somehow they are a powerful country.

Your Support Has Never Been More Critical

Other news outlets have retreated behind paywalls. At HuffPost, we believe journalism should be free for everyone.

Would you help us provide essential information to our readers during this critical time? We can't do it without you.

Can't afford to contribute? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.

You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest we could use your help again . We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can't do it without you.

Whether you give once or many more times, we appreciate your contribution to keeping our journalism free for all.

Whether you give just one more time or sign up again to contribute regularly, we appreciate you playing a part in keeping our journalism free for all.

Support HuffPost

Weve never had to do that, he added.

Check out the clip here:

President Trump's planned July 4th event is not \"in keeping with what our country is all about,\" says former CIA Director Leon Panetta. \"We're the strongest military power on the face of the Earth and we have never had to display that power to the world in order to prove it.\" pic.twitter.com/XEKnu8usFd

Anderson Cooper 360 (@AC360) July 3, 2019","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Anderson Cooper 360","author_url":"https://twitter.com/AC360","cache_age":86400,"description":"President Trump's planned July 4th event is not \"in keeping with what our country is all about,\" says former CIA Director Leon Panetta. \"We're the strongest military power on the face of the Earth and we have never had to display that power to the world in order to prove it.\" pic.twitter.com/XEKnu8usFd Anderson Cooper 360 (@AC360) July 3, 2019\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false}},"provider_name":"Twitter","thumbnail_height":540,"thumbnail_url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/amplify_video_thumb/1146223126977667072/img/bTZI-oL0VMw6fmRy.jpg","thumbnail_width":960,"title":"Anderson Cooper 360 on Twitter","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/AC360/status/1146223495594090496","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"us","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"5d1c49f9e4b07f6ca585fca9","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/entry/leon-panetta-donald-trump-fourth-july-celebrations_n_5d1c49f9e4b07f6ca585fca9","entryTagsList":"donald-trump,politics-and-government,anderson-cooper,fourth-of-july,leon-panetta","sectionSlug":"politics","deptSlug":"politics-news","sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"media,us-news,tv","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.politics","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"https://img.connatix.com/2ef0de4a-ee86-4ee6-b312-f1f8bcd286fe/1_th.jpg?crop=480:270,smart&width=480&height=270&format=jpeg&quality=60&fit=crop","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":6},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":1},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"5d1c49f9e4b07f6ca585fca9","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"Donald Trump","slug":"donald-trump","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/donald-trump","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/donald-trump","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/donald-trump"},"relegenceId":2789214,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Donald Trump","slug":"donald-trump","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/donald-trump"},{"name":"Politics and Government","slug":"politics-and-government","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/politics-and-government","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/politics-and-government","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/politics-and-government"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Politics and Government","slug":"politics-and-government","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/politics-and-government"},{"name":"Anderson Cooper","slug":"anderson-cooper","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/anderson-cooper","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/anderson-cooper","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/anderson-cooper"},"relegenceId":2773143,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Media","slug":"media"},"topic":{"title":"Anderson Cooper","slug":"anderson-cooper","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/anderson-cooper"},{"name":"Fourth Of July","slug":"fourth-of-july","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/fourth-of-july","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/fourth-of-july","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/fourth-of-july"},"relegenceId":5759969,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"4th Of July","slug":"4th-of-july","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/4th-of-july"},{"name":"leon panetta","slug":"leon-panetta","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/leon-panetta","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/leon-panetta","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/leon-panetta"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/leon-panetta"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false,"enhancements":{}}">

President Trump's planned July 4th event is not "in keeping with what our country is all about," says former CIA Director Leon Panetta. "We're the strongest military power on the face of the Earth and we have never had to display that power to the world in order to prove it." pic.twitter.com/XEKnu8usFd
Anderson Cooper 360 (@AC360) July 3, 2019