‘Bamboozled Millions of People’: Donald Trump Draws Outrage with Eye-Popping Price Tag for Proposed Monument to Himself
President Donald Trump’s plans for a massive monument in honor of himself in Washington come with an equally monumental price tag. That’s according to a news report from Axios.
Citing White House sources, Axios says the so-called “Arc de Trump,” which would be built across the Potomac from the Lincoln Memorial and at a much larger scale, will cost a staggering $100 million.
The source told the news outlet, “It’s what he’s talking about,” adding, “There’s a small arch. A middle arch. A large arch and he likes the large one, of course, as long as it’s big and gold and white.”
It’s unclear how the arch will be paid for or whether Trump will go through lawful channels for the building permits, but he has said he wants it completed by next summer to coincide with the country’s 250th anniversary celebrations.
His “big, beautiful ballroom,” which he tore down the East Wing of the White House to build, is being paid for by private donors. Axios also reported the president has raised $1.9 billion for his campaign war chest, so it’s possible he’ll dip into those funds to pay the hefty price tag for the arch.
But the arch, modeled after the famous Arc de Triomphe in Paris and the Soldiers and Sailors’ Memorial Arch in Brooklyn, is the largest project to date.
And plenty of Americans aren’t happy about it.
“This ridiculous ARCH provides even more testimony of the parallelisms of Drumpf’s IDOL. ADOLPH’s Planned Arch,” this MSN reader pointed out.
Drumpf, by the way, is the original German family surname of the Trump family, and is being used by opponents either as a protest or parody.
Hitler did plan to build a huge arch, according to multiple news outlets, but it was never constructed.
“We can spend millions on a gaudy ballroom, we can spend millions on an arch for a felon. But we cannot find money to feed people. This is not normal for this country. The president is only out for himself, yet he has bamboozled millions of people to make them think he is for them. I am glad I am aware of what is going down. I am disappointed that more of this country is not,” another reader wrote.
“Biggest question here is what will it cost the taxpayers to rebuild the East Wing, restore the rose garden, and to demolish and remove the arch? Is he going to be billed for that? I hope so. That seems fair,” one person wrote.
Another MSN reader remarked, “Building and bombing doesn’t make America ‘great again.’ Upholding its ideals and founding principles is what always made America great. Trumpism is a departure from that greatness. Talking to him is a waste of time.”
At a fundraiser for the ballroom last month, Trump unveiled plans for the monument, which included three sizes: small, medium, and large, and he said at the time he liked the largest model. The plans call for a neoclassical structure topped with eagles and a golden winged statue and would dwarf everything around it.
Trump has moved with lightning speed since returning to office in January to put his permanent stamp on the People’s House and the greater Washington area.
He has demolished the historic East Wing of the White House to build a 90,000 square-foot ballroom, which he originally called a renovation that turned into a demolition. He’s paved over the iconic Rose Garden to create a Mar-a-Lago-style patio. He‘s remodeled the Oval Office with gilded accents and gaudy golden features.
And just this week, he revealed that he had torn out the Art Deco bathroom in the Lincoln Bedroom and replaced it with black and white marble from floor to ceiling, featuring golden faucets and a chandelier.
It’s also unclear whether he received building permits or permission from agencies that govern renovations to historic buildings to make any of the changes that are so far publicly known.