President Donald Trump has a nickname for his latest pet project to reshape the nation’s capital: “The Arc.”
Trump repeatedly used the nickname as he teased the construction of an arch that closely resembles the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France, that he wants erected in a roundabout just outside Arlington National Cemetery on the Virginia state line.
The topic emerged as Trump, 79, was asked in a press gaggle Friday about how much money he has raised to build his new $300 million ballroom at the White House—a project that led to the entire East Wing being abruptly demolished this week.
“You know, we’re building The Arc, and maybe we use it for The Arc,” he said of excess donor money. “Looks like we might. You know, we’re going to be building The Arc, and we’ve raised a lot of money for the ballroom, so maybe we’ll put—The Arc is going to be incredible for Washington, DC, so maybe we use it for The Arc.”
Trump showed off mock-ups of arches at a fundraiser last week, with the renderings displaying the name “Independence Arch,” according to The New York Times. Trump said the structure will honor America’s 250th anniversary of independence next year and added that three models are under consideration, but his favorite is the largest.
“Small, medium, and large—whichever one, they look good,” Trump said at the dinner, per the Times. “I happen to think the larger one looks, by far, the best.”
Models displayed at the donor dinner show that the arch largely resembles the iconic monument in Paris, where Trump was enamored by a military parade that circled the Arc in 2017. The only notable difference between the original Arc and the planned “Independence Arch” is that the latter appears to feature a gold, winged statue of a female figure.
Trump’s razing of the East Wing—plus the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden and historic trees around it—was done without congressional oversight and without warning, as he previously vowed his ballroom project would leave the White House untouched.
The construction of an arch outside Arlington National Cemetery would likely require a bit more oversight and cooperation with local officials. The proposed location—on the Virginia side of the Potomac River, facing the Lincoln Memorial—means anyone entering or leaving Washington via the Arlington Memorial Bridge will have a full view of it.
D.C. architect Nicolas Leo Charbonneau, a principal at Harrison Design, may have first planted the idea of an arch in Trump’s head. He shared a rendering of a triumphal arch at the same traffic circle on Sept. 4, and it went viral.
A proposal for a triumphal arch in DC for #America250, in the traffic circle in front of Arlington National Cemetery. America needs a triumphal arch! pic.twitter.com/JjwSZsOE9z
— Nicolas Leo Charbonneau (@nic_charbonneau) September 4, 2025
Trump is pulling out all the stops for America’s 250th birthday party. This includes his highly criticized decision to host a UFC fight on the White House lawn and to build a $34 million “American Heroes” garden.
Completing an arch by July 4, 2026, would require some quick construction. Trump’s ballroom, by contrast, is not expected to be completed until 2028, his final full year in office.
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