❓WHAT HAPPENED: President Donald J. Trump announced plans for a grand triumphal arch to commemorate America’s 250th birthday.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: President Trump, billionaire donors, and executives from companies such as Google, Meta, Amazon, Lockheed Martin, and Palantir.
📍WHEN & WHERE: Announced in the East Room on Wednesday, the arch is planned to be placed at the entrance of Arlington Memorial Bridge, across from the Lincoln Memorial.
💬KEY QUOTE: “It’s an arch… It’s going to be built.” – Donald Trump
🎯IMPACT: The project aims to leave a lasting mark on Washington, D.C., and could host future presidential inaugurations.
President Donald J. Trump has unveiled designs for a new project to mark America’s 250th anniversary: a grand triumphal arch resembling Paris’s Arc de Triomphe, playfully dubbed the “Arc de Trump.” The America First leader revealed the plan during a Wednesday event in the East Room, attended by donors who also supported the construction of a new White House ballroom.
Trump presented a model of the arch, which he intends to place at the entrance of Arlington Memorial Bridge, opposite the Lincoln Memorial. “That’s Arlington Memorial Bridge,” he said. “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.”
Earlier that day, a reporter noticed a 3D model of the arch on the Oval Office desk. When questioned, Trump confirmed, “It’s an arch… It’s going to be built.” When asked who it was for, he joked, “For me!”
Trump also mentioned that the bridge was originally slated for a Robert E. Lee statue in 1902, adding, “Every time somebody rides over that beautiful bridge to the Lincoln Memorial, they literally say something is supposed to be here.”
Having taken a hands-on role in redesigning parts of the White House since returning to office nine months ago, Trump emphasized his love for real estate and design projects. “It’s so relaxing for me, real estate is relaxing,” he told the donors, citing past presidents like James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Harry Truman, who also pursued major design projects.
The event representatives from major companies, including Google parent company Alphabet, Facebook parent company Meta, Amazon, Lockheed Martin, and Palantir.
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