Donald Trump has unveiled his latest grandiose project to reshape the nation’s capital.
The president announced he would be overseeing the construction of a grand arch to celebrate America’s 250th birthday. Its striking resemblance to the Arc de Triumph in Paris has led to it being nicknamed the ‘Arc de Trump.’
Trump made the announcement in the East Room on Wednesday in front of donors responsible for bankrolling a 90,000-square-foot White House ballroom.
He picked up a model of the giant arch and revealed it would be placed across from the Lincoln Memorial at the entrance of the Arlington Memorial Bridge.
‘That’s Arlington Memorial Bridge,’ Trump said. ‘And at the end of it, you have a circle that was built 150 years ago. You have two columns on one side, two columns on the other, yet in the middle, just a circle.
‘And everyone in the past had said something was supposed to be built there. But a thing called the Civil War interfered. That’s a good reason.’
The president revealed that a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee had been slated for the site more than a century ago.
‘In 1902, they were going to put a statue of Robert E. Lee up — would have been okay with me,’ he explained.
Trump unveiled his plans to build a grand arch across from the Lincoln Memorial during a dinner in the East Room
The president also showcased the design plans for the arch on his desk in the Oval Office in front of reporters
Trump showcased different 3-D models of the arch to his billionaire donors in the East Room
‘A lot of people wouldn’t have liked it, would have been okay with me. It would have been okay with a lot of the people in this room, but they didn’t do that.’
Prior to Trump’s announcement, a reporter noticed the arch design on the resolute desk as they were being pushed out of the Oval Office. The reporter asks the president the purpose of the 3D model and he responded, ‘It’s an arch…It’s going to be built.’
When the reporter asks for whom, Trump replied, ‘For me!’
Since reentering the White House nine months ago, Trump has personally overseen several designer changes to the White House, including in the Rose Garden and Oval Office.
Trump did not specify the exact cost of the new design project or who would be funding the operation.
‘It’s so relaxing for me, real estate is relaxing,’ Trump told donors in the East Room.
‘For a lot of people, real estate is a very trying business. I’ve always liked it. I’ve always done well with it.’
The commander-in-chief cited presidents who have introduced massive designer projects during their White House terms: ‘James Monroe who added the South Portico to Andrew Jackson who added the North Portico to Theodore Roosevelt, who added the West Wing… And Harry Truman, who added the Truman Balcony.’
Donors from the largest corporations in the country were present at Trump’s arch presentation
The donors at Monday’s gathering were executives and representatives of multi-billion dollar corporations, including Alphabet’s Google, Meta, Amazon, Lockheed Martin, and Palantir.
Trump promised his ballroom donors that the final product would be completed with ‘exquisite’ taste and could be used to host future presidential inaugurations.
‘I consider myself an important designer because they come in with things that they may be good designers, but boy, the things they can recommend are horrible,’ Trump joked.
