Trump unveiled the plan at a White House dinner on Wednesday for the wealthy businesspeople who have pledged money toward the $250 million cost of adding a massive ballroom to the Executive Mansion. Trump did not put a price tag on the cost of the arch.
“It’s going to be really beautiful,” the Republican president said. “I think it’s going to be fantastic.”
Many presidents and first families try to leave their imprint on the White House, and Trump is already doing that with many of the design and construction changes he’s made to the property, perhaps most notably by converting the Rose Garden into a stone-covered patio.
But the arch goes far beyond the White House, giving Trump a chance to leave another lasting monument in a city known for them. It would expand on his earlier talk of sprucing up the city by replacing its “tired” grasses, and broken signage and street medians.
Trump seems to draw inspiration from the French.
The proposed arch bears a striking resemblance to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, the famous monument at the end of the Champs-Élysées honoring those who fought for France during the French Revolution and Napoleonic wars.
A military parade held in Washington earlier this year to mark the Army’s 250th birthday was inspired after Trump witnessed a similar event down the famous Parisian boulevard eight years ago as a guest of France’s president, Emmanuel Macron.
The White House did not immediately respond Thursday to an emailed request for more information on the arch, including the timeline for completing it.
Harrison Design, a local firm, is working on the project, according to a weekend social media post from Trump. A representative for the firm did not respond to an emailed request seeking comment Thursday.
It was unclear if the White House has presented the proposal to the National Capital Planning Commission, which has responsibility over planning and siting monuments, memorials and statues in the city. The commission’s offices have been closed during the government shutdown.
L. Preston Bryant Jr., a former chairman of the commission, said in an email that federal law requires that the proposed arch be put through the commission’s review and approval process.
The arch would stand at the Washington end of Memorial Bridge, which spans the Potomac River from Arlington, Virginia. At the dinner, Trump showed off three different sized models of the arch, which will feature a statue of Lady Liberty on top, and acknowledged that the largest one was his favorite.
Trump thanked his dinner guests for being “so generous in your contributions” to pay for the ballroom and said there might be enough money left over to cover the cost of building the arch.
“It’s fully taken care of now and, in fact, we’ll have money left over and we’ll use that for something,” he said. “We’ll use that probably maybe for the arch or something else that will come. But we love to fix up Washington.”
The White House has said it will disclose information on who has contributed money to build the ballroom, but has yet to do so. That project was announced in late July.
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Associated Press video journalist Mike Pesoli contributed to this report.
