President Donald Trump on Friday teased a truly monumental change to Washington, D.C.
The former real estate tycoon has already launched construction on a massive new White House ballroom and redecorated the Oval Office in gold, but floated yet another idea in a wordless social media post shared shortly after midnight — a colossal new landmark.
Trump shared an artist’s rendering on his Truth Social platform depicting a “triumphal arch” across from the Lincoln Memorial, which shows the nonexistent monument built on a roundabout known as Memorial Circle — with an expectedly golden angel statue perched on top.
The rendering appeared to be from the architecture firm Harrison Design. Nicolas Leo Charbonneau, a partner and principal at the company, shared the same rendering back in September.
“A proposal for a triumphal arch in DC for #America250, in the traffic circle in front of Arlington National Cemetery,” Charbonneau wrote at the time on X. “America needs a triumphal arch!”
Trump has indeed been preparing, in his own unorthodox way, to mark the country’s 250th anniversary next year. Along with the posted landmark, plans already include a mixed-martial arts fight on the White House lawn in June 2026.
The plans for the landmark were on his desk Thursday, as captured in a photo from AFP White House correspondent Danny Kemp, who posted on X: “On Trump’s desk in the Oval Office today was a plan for a triumphal arch on the other side of the river from the Lincoln Memorial.”
The photo showed a large satellite map of the D.C. area in question strewn across the Resolute Desk, with a miniature model of the Lincoln Memorial — and another model of the proposed arch sitting across the Potomac River — placed atop the printed map.
Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images
Justin Shubow, president of the National Civic Art Society, pitched the idea to Trump earlier this year, according to two people who spoke to The Washington Post on the condition of anonymity. Trump is reportedly eager to have the arch completed by 2026.
Whether this will actually happen remains to be seen, though the president certainly seems to be taking the project seriously. On Tuesday, he was shown presenting the arch mock-up to Canadian officials — including the country’s prime minister, Mark Carney.