Remember President Donald Trump’s hideous triumphal arch? The proposed 250-foot monstrosity in the Columbia Island traffic circle in Washington, D.C., which Trump suddenly announced would also be a sniper’s nest when it became clear that Congress would not fund the idea and that the courts might block it? The national monument’s sniper nest that is entirely necessary for national security, of course? Whoever looks like Jeff Koons designed the basic defenses of an American faction parodied in Command and conquest?
Well, a federal judge may have imposed a 14-day deadline on the arch’s construction this week, but Trump’s work won’t be slowed down. The White House has now launched a glitzy website with CGI panoramic views of the shots, allowing people online to observe it in all its silly glory. The announcement further undermines the administration’s efforts to sell the arch as a patriotic project, renaming it the “Military Arch of Triumph of the United States.”
“The United States Military Arch celebrates America’s first 250 years and is the symbol of its next 250 years,” we can read on the site. “It serves as the solemn entrance to Arlington National Cemetery, honoring the heroes who gave their lives for our freedom, and as the grand gateway to the nation’s capital that has been and forever will be the greatest force for freedom and goodness in the history of the world.”
Renderings show the stark white arch with gold details and three giant statues at the top, the central one of which resembles a version of Lady Liberty holding a torch that the admin found for free on Sketchfab. It bears the inscription “ONE NATION UNDER GOD”. The exact location of the proposed sniper nest isn’t immediately visible in the renderings, but perhaps they forgot to include a rifle barrel protruding from an embrasure somewhere.
Note that the proposed location of the arch between Arlington Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial, which would block views of the memorial and the National Mall from many gravesites, is the specific point of contention that motivated a group of Vietnam War veterans to file an ongoing lawsuit that resulted in this week’s stop-work order. The move reversed approval of the project a day earlier by the National Capital Planning Commission, which has many Trump loyalists.
“The White House welcomes the National Capital Planning Commission’s decision to fully endorse President Trump’s historic vision to build a much-needed triumphal arch in Washington, D.C.,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle posted on X after the court’s ruling. “An activist district court subsequently blocked construction of the project. »
“This will be the largest, most beautiful triumphal arch in the world,” Trump said on the website. Well, regardless of taste.
The Ark website launches days after Democrats took back the House and Senate in midterm elections that punished Republicans and were widely interpreted as a referendum on Trump himself. Incoming Democrats will likely investigate projects like the White House State Arch and Ballroom at the former East Wing site, meaning it’s possible this abomination never comes to fruition.
Gn usa
