Trump unveils plans for 'Arc de Trump' near Lincoln Memorial

Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News on Oct 16, 2025

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President Donald Trump has unveiled proposals for a new arch to be built across the Potomac River from the Lincoln Memorial as he continues to burnish his legacy as a master builder.

The ceremonial project, which some have dubbed the Arc de Trump because it resembles the famed Arc de Triomphe in Paris, would rise at the foot of the bridge that connects Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia to the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

“It’s going to be really beautiful. I think it’s going to be fantastic,” Trump said at a White House dinner late Wednesday for donors to his separate privately funded White House ballroom project.

The arch would mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, to be marked in 2026.

Trump showed off models of the planned arch including miniature statues of liberty on top, along with an artist’s rendering of the design.

“Whichever one would look good. I happen to (like) the large one,” Trump said. “Why are you shocked?”

Trump said the arch was an obvious enhancement to a traffic circle at the foot of the Arlington Memorial Bridge on the Virginia side. There are now columns on either side of the circle but nothing in the middle of it.

Trump, a real estate developer, relishes showing off what he considers to be his unique skill at bringing major construction projects to fruition.

He has brushed off the need to obtain permission from local agencies or federal groups that are supposed to approve such projects.

Along with the massive new ballroom, Trump has already implemented several changes in the White House, including replacing the Rose Garden lawn with a paved patio, new flagpoles outside an entryway and installing extensive gold trimming in the Oval Office.

He offered few details about the cost of the new arch or who would pay for it, although he suggested money left over from the ballroom project could be used.

“It’s so relaxing for me. Real estate is relaxing,” he told the guests at his dinner. “For a lot of people, real estate is a very trying business. I’ve always liked it. I’ve always done well with it.”

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