Former Ambassador Michael McFaul witnessed many nationalist events celebrating the former Soviet Union and Russian President Vladimir Putin. President Donald Trump’s military parade and display of force to commemorate America’s formal declaration of Independence from England is remarkably similar he said.

“This photo reminds me of parades I used to attend in the Soviet Union. Not the right look for the 4th,” McFaul tweeted Tuesday. His comments were a response to the photos of U.S. tanks being brought into Washington, D.C. by train.

This photo reminds me of parades I used to attend in the Soviet Union. Not the right look for the 4th. https://t.co/hsf3mZLnBo

— Michael McFaul (@McFaul) July 2, 2019

Found ‘em! 5 military tanks on train tracks in southeast DC for the 4th of July celebrations pic.twitter.com/Nv8aTgR0no

— Elizabeth Landers (@ElizLanders) July 2, 2019

Trump announced the bizarre military focus a few months ago, but it wasn’t until this week that Americans learned he would be rolling out tanks and other military hardware. Trump confirmed the tanks during an Oval Office Q&A Monday.

According to the New York Times, moving and guarding the tanks will require staff at a time many troops are home with their families for the Independence Day holiday.

Jesus Christ. https://t.co/XxCHooVOX1 pic.twitter.com/JRrxSYz9dX

— Eric Geller (@ericgeller) July 1, 2019

One GQ correspondent, who lived in Russia, noted that she left the country for this.

I left Russia for this. https://t.co/uvT9cZTFz1

— Julia Ioffe (@juliaioffe) July 2, 2019

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