On Air Force One, Trump discussed the vision for a triumphal arch in Washington DC, noting its absence in Washington, which he referred to as ‘only major city’
United States President Donald Trump on Sunday said that he would like the triumphal arch in Washington DC to be the biggest one of all as he referred the country as the biggest and most powerful nation.
“For 200 years, they wanted to build an arch,” Donald Trump said as he spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One on February 1.
.@POTUS on the triumphal arch: “They have 57 cities around the world that have them. We’re the only major city — Washington, D.C. — that doesn’t… I’d like it to be the biggest one of all. We’re the biggest, most powerful nation.” pic.twitter.com/mHRnLucZIm
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 1, 2026
Adding that nearly 57 cities around the world have triumphal arches, the President noted that Washington DC, which he called the ‘only major city’, did not have one.
Hints at the triumphal arch
Donald Trump had earlier hinted at plans for the new and permanent monument as a part of the administration’s commemoration of the nation’s 250th anniversary on July 4, 2026, Bloomberg reported.
Earlier this January, when asked about when the construction would begin, Trump affirmed that it had not started and that it would begin sometime over the next two months.
“It’ll be great. Everyone loves it,” Trump told Politico in a phone interview from his Palm Beach estate. “They love the ballroom too. But they love the Triumphal Arch,” he added.
Over the past few months, Trump had displayed renderings of the proposed arch at the White House Oval Office. The arch is loosely based on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris and is expected to be erected across the Potomac River from the Lincoln Memorial.
In his recent interaction with reporters, Trump confirmed that the arch would not be bigger than the White House. “I could have built a much bigger one, but I did not want to do that, I did not want it to be taller than the White House,” Trump said.
Stressing that the monument would be a really beautiful building done by some of the best architects in the world, the President added that the government is setting up a committee which would look after the construction of the arch.
The article originally appeared on Hindustan Times
