According to presidential historian Michael Beschloss, in the 1950s, some generals approached former general Dwight Eisenhower about having big Soviet-style military parades to show off American military might:

“Eisenhower said absolutely not, we are the preeminent power on Earth,” Beschloss says, recalling Eisenhower’s response. “For us to try to imitate what the Soviets are doing in Red Square would make us look weak.”