The Pentagon and US State Department are reinforcing their commitment to African security and influence amid numerous reports of stepped up Chinese military and economic incursions into the region.

Criticism was growing over the planned showcase for US military might, which Mr Trump wanted to hold after attending a Bastille Day parade in France.

A parade might be on the cards in 2019 if the cost comes “way down,” the president tweeted, blaming “local politicians” for “price-gouging.” In the meantime, he said he would go back to France instead to watch planned commemorations for the centenary of the end of World War I in November.

His decision appears to confirm the high cost, which Defence Secretary James Mattis had dismissed a day earlier with the retort that whoever leaked it “was probably smoking something that is legal in my state but not in most” (cannabis, legal in Washington state).

Democrats had attacked Mr Trump for splashing money on a parade while cutting back on provocative war games on the North Korean border, which they said were cheaper.