How 'grand builder' Trump turned DC into an 'absolute mess'

Long before he ran for president — his first campaign was a brief Reform Party run in 2000 — Donald Trump was known for flashy, over-the-top architecture and design. From Trump Tower in Manhattan to his Atlantic City hotels/casinos, his properties weren't known for their modesty. Now, 17 and one-half months into his second presidency, Trump is pursuing a variety of makeover projects in and around Washington D.C. — which, The Atlantic's Matt Viser argues, is being turned into an "absolute mess."

"Donald Trump has often prided himself on being a builder of grand things," Viser writes in The Atlantic. "He laid out an expansive vision for Washington, including a gargantuan new triumphal arch in a traffic circle that leads to Arlington National Cemetery. He aggressively took over the 250th celebrations in Washington, redirecting tens of millions of dollars to glam up the tired capital. But so far, he has done more demolition and renovation than construction."

The 80-year-old president is pursuing a wide range of projects in and around the U.S. capital, including a White House ballroom. But according to Viser, they aren't going well.

"The capital city is an absolute mess," the Atlantic staffer laments. "The White House is an active construction site, with cement trucks going through the same gates typically used by the president's armored limousine. There's a gaping hole where half of the building once stood, a project held up by lawsuits. The South Lawn and the Ellipse, a 52-acre park between the White House and the Washington Monument, are completely torn up. The once-green grass where a temporary arena held a bloody UFC fight last month has turned brown. It looks like a demolition derby took place."

Viser adds, "The Reflecting Pool is a murky shade of green, despite a multimillion-dollar renovation to repaint it American-flag blue and mitigate its algae problem. It is now surrounded by fencing and ominous signs that read 'DANGER EXPLOSIVES' and show a bomb being detonated. Ducks that died in the water are being tested."

DC's National Mall, Viser notes, "seems to be wrapped in a variety of fencing."

"At East Potomac Golf Links, at nearby Hains Point, is a massive pile of dirt that some golfers have dubbed 'Mount Trump,' taken from the East Wing debris in preparation for a golf-course redo," Viser observes. "The Federal Reserve is under construction, as are various roads and bridges, and the Kennedy Center is allegedly in disrepair — and now has an odd contraption of scaffolding and flame-retardant tarps covering its signage at the main entrance like a giant Band-Aid. There are construction cranes, National Guard troops, and portable restrooms everywhere."

Viser adds, "Throughout the city, there are government signs proclaiming, 'We are making D.C. safe and beautiful.' D.C. may be relatively safe, but much of it certainly isn't beautiful."

Charles A. Birnbaum, president of the Cultural Landscape Foundation, shares Viser's view that Trump is making D.C. a major eyesore.

Birnbaum told The Atlantic, "It's as if there were a natural disaster, and we're looking at the damage after a hurricane. Or think of Manhattan after the World Trade Center was hit by an act of terrorism. If you were just to parachute into Washington, you'd say, 'Gosh, what happened here?'"