While Donald Trump praised the success of a much anticipated military parade Washington on Saturday, many were less enthusiastic.

The much vaunted parade to celebrate 250 years of the US Army, as well as Trump’s 79th birthday, was the first event of its kind in the US since 1991.

More than 6600 soldiers were joined by tanks and robot dogs in a march down Washington DC’s Constitution Avenue.

US army leaders were forced defend the exorbitant bill for the parade, which is expected to cost up to $US45 million ($69 million), and an unlikely group pf business may have been major recipients.

One feature of the spectacle was troops of soldiers marching in historical uniforms bearing muskets.

According to entertainment news site Deadline, a multitude of film and TV prop houses were drafted in provide rentals of vintage guns, rifles, period piece helmets and other hardware and outfits for the parade.

“Money, cost, did not seem to be an option,” an employee at a Los Angeles prop house, who did not want to be identified, admitted with “self-declared embarrassment”.

“I’m okay with my tax dollars going to help out Hollywood businesses, even for this,” another strident ‘Never Trumper’ was quoted as saying.

“Everything Trump does is for how it looks on TV, so this tracks 100 per cent for me,” a studio executive told Deadline.

Despite the Hollywood input, social media was scathing of the parade.

Trump was joined by wife Melania Trump, members of his administration and military leaders for the parade.

“Tonight, we affirm with unwavering certainty that in the years ahead, and in every generation hence, whenever duty calls and whatever danger comes, the American soldier will be there,” Trump said.

However, the social media users were less impressed by the spectacle, even questioning whether the US servicemen willingly took part in the event.

“This was a s–t show. Recruits in bootcamp can march in formation better than this,” one user wrote, with another adding: “Even NCC Cadets in India perform better parade marches than the superpower America.”

“Can’t believe how underwhelming all the footage of America’s military parade is,” another posted.

“250 year anniversary for the world’s biggest military and they get troops trotting along out of sync, isolated tanks rolling through to complete silence, small crowd, no cool displays of precision marching or cool tech, and lame country music to cap it off. Embarrassing.”

Thousands of spectators lined Constitution Avenue near the National Mall to watch the parade. However, a glance at the crowd indicated it fell fall far short of early predictions that as many as 200,000 people would attend.

Some of those at the parade held anti-Trump signs in protest, while others were blocked by police from the parade area.