Trump uses national security excuse for yet another vanity project

U.S. President Donald Trump takes questions from media at a press briefing, in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 25, 2026. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo

In response to the backlash against him for destroying the White House East Wing to build a ballroom, President Donald Trump falsely claimed that the ballroom is essential for national security. Now he is whipping out the same excuse for another vanity project — his proposed National Arch.

"President Trump knows that one way to gain advantage in the legal fight over a controversial construction project is to link it to a military need," Politico's Kyle Cheney posted on X on Sunday. He then quoted Trump's post on the president's own Truth Social platform.

"At the strong request of the United States Military, and for National Security purposes, I have agreed to convert the magnificent Triumphal Arch, planned since the Civil War Era many years ago, at the Receptive Circle adjoining the Arlington Memorial Bridge, into a top grade Military Complex/Triumphal Arch, to house, store, and have the rapid ability to use large numbers of drones, plus Snipers, on both the roof and plaza areas, and additionally have and hold large quantities of sniper ammunition in storage," Trump said. "There will be no facility like this anywhere in the World. Out of the 59 top cities and Capitals, Washington, D.C., IS THE ONLY ONE IN THE WORLD THAT DOES NOT HAVE A TRIUMPHAL ARCH, but it will now and, by far, the greatest of them all! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP"

In a darkly ironic twist, Trump's arch is being criticized by veterans for showing disrespect to individuals who gave their lives protecting America.

"For me, Arlington has been a nice quiet place," Karen Meredith — whose son First Lt. Ken Ballard died during the Iraq War in 2004 — said in a Vote Vets video. "We don't need tourists overlooking funerals. I'm just appalled." Numerous other veterans have echoed Meredith's observation, saying that the arch would figuratively and literally overshadow the cemetery honoring America's fallen veterans.

Despite the widespread opposition from the veterans, however, Trump has stacked federal regulatory agencies with loyalists who are willing to give him whatever he wants.

"For decades, the planning commission reviewing construction projects in Washington has stood by the principle that the federal law limiting the height of buildings in the capital applies to federal projects," New York Times reporters Luke Broadwater, Emily Badger and Junho Lee wrote in July. "But now that President Trump has proposed building a giant triumphal arch, the commission, which is led by Trump allies, is considering a different, more lenient view. On Thursday, (July 9), the National Capital Planning Commission will consider a new interpretation of the 1910 Height of Buildings Act: that it was never meant to apply to federal projects, and certainly not to Mr. Trump's 250-foot arch."

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