How could Napoleon Bonaparte have imagined when he ordered the construction of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris that two centuries later a bigoted American president would try to imitate him by designing his own arch in .
Trump a la Napoleon
Napoleon the Great decided to build the Arc de Triomphe the day after his victory at Austerlitz, in the Battle of the Three Emperors, where the French army crushed the Austrians and Russians in 1805. Napoleon did not get to see the completion of the arch, which was built with obstacles over the next three turbulent decades and where the monument to the Unknown now stands Soldier. On the other side of the Atlantic, he has not achieved any historic victory beyond his re-election but is demanding his own arch in less than a year, by July 4, 2026, for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the founding of the United States.
Where does he get his inspiration from?
The idea has been in Trump’s mind since his first term, when he attended the large military parade in Paris for Bastille Day in 2017. His demand for a military parade in Washington was implemented last June, although the result was poor compared to the French parade. Now the American president wants the similar arch to put his own stamp on the landscape of the American capital and to emphasize the power of the USA. Does he draw inspiration from Bonaparte or from the grandeur of ancient Rome?
In order to erect the Trump Arch in the circular plaza in front of Arlington National Cemetery, across from the Lincoln Memorial, issues of jurisdiction of the agencies involved as well as a number of legal problems will have to be resolved.
“All obstacles will be overcome”
But the American president is convinced that all obstacles will be overcome while citing his business experience in real estate and construction. Besides, thanks to his experience and donations from the heads of business giants (Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Meta, HP, Lockheed Martin, Palantir, etc.) in order to build a new ballroom with a capacity of 1,000 people, which will cost more than 200 million dollars.
“To me that sound means money”
The noise from the excavators and drills of the crews could be heard during an event that took place the day before yesterday in the Rose Garden of the White House, but this did not bother the president. “To my ears it sounds like music. I love that sound. A lot of people don’t like it, but to me that sound means money,” Trump said, while explaining that the new ballroom won’t cost the American public a dime (which has completed three weeks of shut-downs due to the budget impasse).
Any money left over from donations for the ballroom will go toward the arch, a White House source said. It remains unknown, however, how much the Washington Arch will cost, who will pay for it, and when work will begin.
Three different models for the arch
Trump recently presented, at the meeting with the sponsors of the new ballroom, three different models of the arch that he is planning. In one version Trump’s arch will be higher than that of Paris which reaches 49.5 meters, in the second it will have the same height and in the third it will be smaller.
Donald Trump has made it clear that he wants sweeping changes in Washington, that he wants to “fix up” the capital, get the homeless off the streets, enforce law and order with police operations and the assistance of the National Guard.
Rebuilding Washington
According to the New York Times, President Trump has taken a particular interest in redevelopment plans for Southwest Washington, emphasizing the preservation of “Greco-Roman architecture” in public buildings. The planned arch is part of this context, adds the newspaper.
The Trump aesthetic
Trump’s opponents and sections of the press have derided the president’s aesthetic, as reflected in the gold-laden new decor of the Oval Office and the tiles of the Rose Garden, while predicting that the new ballroom will be correspondingly unsightly.
As for the Washington Arch, the three models are not currently considered sufficient evidence to estimate what its final form will be. Will it be a copy or misprint of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris? President Trump said he likes the biggest…
