- - Trump wants his DC arch to be 'biggest one of all'

Zac Anderson, USA TODAYFebruary 1, 2026 at 6:25 AM

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President Donald Trump said he wants a new arch that he’s planning for the National Mall in Washington to be the largest of its kind in the world.

“It’ll be substantial,” Trump told reporters while traveling on Air Force One to Florida on Jan. 31. “I’d like it to be the biggest one of all. We’re the biggest, most powerful, nation. I’d like it to be the biggest one.”

Trump was a responding to a question about a Washington Post report that he wants a 250-foot-tall arch, which is more than twice the height of the Lincoln Memorial and the largest of three versions he has considered. The arch’s height would be “appropriate for the site,” he said Jan. 31.

1 / 79Donald Trump's second term: Actions, travels of the 47th presidentPresident Donald Trump and his wife Melania arrive for the premiere of the documentary film "Melania" at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, recently renamed to include U.S. President Donald Trump's name, in Washington, DC on Jan. 29, 2026.

Trump showcased three different arch models of varying sizes at a White House event in October. He unveiled the three arch renderings with different features, including statues and gold accents, in a Jan. 23 social media post.

Each version has the words “The Independence Arch” at the top of the structure.

The arch would commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary this year, and Trump favors the 250-foot version, in part, because it matches the anniversary, the Washington Post reported.

Trump noted other cities have similar arches. Among the most famous is the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Some have called Trump’s version the “Arc de Trump.” He told Politico Dec. 31 that construction could start in two months.

President Donald Trump holds a model of an arch monument during a ballroom dinner in the East Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., October 15, 2025.

The arch would overlook the Potomac River on the other side of the Arlington Memorial Bridge from the Lincoln Memorial.

A real-estate-developer-turned-president, Trump has quickly moved in his second term to put his stamp not just on policy, but on the physical landscape in DC. He tore up to the White House Rose Garden to install a patio, demolished the East Wing of the White House to build a large ballroom and has renovated and attached his name to the Kennedy Center.

Contributing: Joey Garrison

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