US President Donald Trump yesterday said the triumphal arch he plans to build near Washington would double as a ‘military complex’ housing drones and snipers, making it the second major construction project he has sought to justify on national security grounds.
The move, which Trump said came at the military’s request, echoed the national security rationale he has used to defend the roughly $400 million ballroom complex being built on the site of the White House’s former East Wing. He did not identify any specific threats.
The arch and ballroom are part of Trump’s broader effort to remake the nation’s capital, including the renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, the redevelopment of a golf course in East Potomac Park, and a push to add his name to the John F Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts. The initiatives have drawn criticism from preservationists and others who argue they would alter some of Washington’s most prominent historic landmarks.
In a social media post, Trump said that at the ‘strong request’ of the military he had agreed to turn the planned 76-metre arch ‘into a top grade military complex/triumphal arch, to house, store, and have the rapid ability to use large numbers of drones, plus snipers, on both the roof and plaza areas, and additionally have and hold large quantities of sniper ammunition in storage.”
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