U.S. President Donald Trump stands on the tarmac, as he heads to board the new Qatari-gifted Air Force One en route to New York City, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., July 17, 2026. REUTERS Evan Vucci
Since assuming office for his second term, President Donald Trump has directly assaulted the legacy of his famous and beloved predecessor, President John Kennedy. From trying to add his name to Kennedy's memorial, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, to rolling back Kennedy's signature foreign and domestic policy programs, Trump has attempted to figuratively overshadow his illustrious forebear.
Yet now that Trump is trying to also literally overshadow him with a self-named arch, the Kennedy family believes it has grounds to stop him with the power of the law.
"The Kennedy family has filed for an injunction against President Trump's arch, saying it would destroy the solemn memorial to the Kennedy family at Arlington National Cemetery, disrupting sightlines and casting a shadow over JFK + RFK graves," reported Politico's Kyle Cheney on Tuesday.
In their injunction, the Kennedy family made it clear that they are calling on their entire lineage in the hope of stopping the construction of the Trump Arch.
"President Donald J. Trump is attempting to unlawfully erect a massive arch that will permanently cast shadows over and damage historically significant sightlines to the existing gravesites and memorials established in the Kennedy family’s honor at Arlington National Cemetery, as well as to the memorials of hundreds of thousands of fallen American heroes," the lawsuit said.
It added that, "Plaintiffs’ family was instrumental in the creation of the Kennedy Gravesites at Arlington National Cemetery, including the placement of the Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., Memorial, next to his brothers’ burial sites, as well. Plaintiffs bring this action to protect the Kennedy family’s sacred Gravesites from Defendants’ unlawful construction project."
And it pointed out that, "Independence Arch in Memorial Circle in Washington, D.C. The Arch is planned to be at least 250 feet tall — more than double the size of the Lincoln Memorial and the equivalent of a twenty-five-story office building. Its location in Memorial Circle would situate the monument on an axis between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery, obstructing a line of sight that was designed to represent the unification of the Nation following the Civil War and that has existed for nearly a century. The Arch will also obstruct the clear sightline of the Kennedy Gravesites and the John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame, in Arlington National Cemetery, from the Arlington Memorial Bridge, destroying an essential element of the Gravesites’ design; and, according to a forensic study, the Arch will permanently cast a shadow over the Kennedy Gravesites and the graves of servicemen and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for this country."
