Arc de Trump? President shows off model of Independence Arch, says “it’s going to be really beautiful”

Washington — President Trump on Wednesday showed off a model of what may be his next Washington, D.C., development project, an arch that resembles the Arc de Triomphe in Paris and is being referred to informally as the “Arc de Trump.”

The president showed off a model of the arch at a White House dinner Wednesday night for a group of wealthy donors who are funding his White House ballroom project. Mockups he displayed bore the caption “Independence Arch.”

“It’s going to be really beautiful. I think it’s going to be fantastic,” Trump said, as he held a model of the arch. “There’s a rendering of what it will look like. You have three sizes.” He added, “I happen to think the large one,” indicating his preference. 

CBS News’ Ed O’Keefe asked the president who the arch is for, and Mr. Trump pointed at himself: “Me.” 

The arch is to be built on the Arlington, Virginia, side of the Memorial Bridge over the Potomac River, between the entrances to Arlington National Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial. The arch is supposed to be completed in time for the country’s 250th anniversary celebration next year. Mr. Trump has a model of it sitting in the Oval Office.

Mr. Trump did not say how much the arch will cost or how it will be funded, as his administration slashes federal jobs during the government shutdown and says federal spending must be reduced. 

Mr. Trump isn’t the first to imagine an arch at that location. In 1902, the National Park Service plans included a triumphal arch that would honor President and Union General Ulysses S. Grant, but the arch was never built.

The Arlington Memorial Bridge, open to traffic in 1932, is the ceremonial entrance to Washington, D.C. Its design is neoclassical, Mr. Trump’s favorite architectural style, and features like sculptures of eagles, bison and oak leaves were intended to invoke national strength and unity, according to the National Park Service.