President Donald Trump is arguing that one other one in all his tasks round Washington, D.C., is being constructed for nationwide safety functions, claiming that his proposed “Triumphal Arch” would even be used as a “prime grade Army Advanced.”
Trump posted on his social media platform Sunday that, on the request of the U.S. navy, he has “agreed to transform the magnificent Triumphal Arch, deliberate for the reason that Civil Struggle Period a few years in the past, on the Receptive Circle adjoining the Arlington Memorial Bridge, right into a prime grade Army Advanced/Triumphal Arch, to accommodate, retailer, and have the fast capability to make use of massive numbers of drones, plus Snipers, on each the roof and plaza areas, and moreover have and maintain massive portions of sniper ammunition in storage.”
President Donald Trump holds up a mannequin for a proposed “Independence Arch” as he speaks throughout a dinner with ballroom donors within the East Room of the White Home in Washington, DC on Oct. 15, 2025.
Andrew Caballero-reynolds/AFP through Getty Photos
The Pentagon declined to remark in response to an ABC Information request.
Trump’s publish stated the construction could be used for nationwide safety functions, a press release that is just like his declare final month that the under-construction White House ballroom, which he had beforehand stated was wanted to host occasions, is required to construct a “extremely built-in navy complicated that comes with a classical, however extremely secured, ballroom and essential national-security services.”
Trump touted the brand new arch mission, saying, “There can be no facility like this anyplace within the World. Out of the 59 prime cities and Capitals, Washington, D.C., IS THE ONLY ONE IN THE WORLD THAT DOES NOT HAVE A TRIUMPHAL ARCH, however it’ll now and, by far, the best of all of them!”
FILE PHOTO: A mannequin of U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed triumphal arch, on the ultimate day of The Nice American State Truthful on the Nationwide Mall in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 10, 2026.
Kylie Cooper/Reuters
Trump’s proposed 250-foot arch is at present going through authorized challenges introduced by some navy veterans and preservationists.
The administration acknowledged final week that the arch, which might sit alongside the Potomac River on the foot of Arlington Nationwide Cemetery, would cause “adverse effects” on the setting and views alongside the river. However the administration additionally stated these impacts “can’t be totally averted” as a result of the arch’s location is “central to the endeavor.”
A bunch of Vietnam Struggle veterans who’ve sued to dam development of the arch asked a federal choose earlier this month to subject a short lived restraining order to stop the administration from transferring ahead with excavation work on the mission. The veterans suing over the arch have argued it will impede views of Arlington Nationwide Cemetery and cannot be constructed with out congressional authorization.
The Nationwide Belief for Historic Preservation, which brought a case in opposition to the administration over the ballroom, stated the administration’s rhetoric concerning the mission is hyperbolic bluster, telling the justices final month that Trump is unilaterally overriding Congress and now racing to finish the mission “to attempt to outrun judicial assessment.”
