We are the United States of America. We go big. In World War 2, we were the arsenal. We beat Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan (I think Italy was involved in there somewhere too) by drowning them in guns and tanks, and guns and airplanes, and guns and artillery... and guns and guns - not always the best, but the most. We are the king-size, globe-spanning superpower; when others go big, we go bigger.
So, when President Donald John Trump was presented with three plans for a triumphal arch to be put up in the District of Columbia for the nation's upcoming 250th birthday, it's no surprise that he picked the big one.
The White House stands about 70 feet tall. The Lincoln Memorial, roughly 100 feet. The triumphal arch President Donald Trump wants to build would eclipse both if he gets his wish.
Trump has grown attached to the idea of a 250-foot-tall structure overlooking the Potomac River, according to two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe his comments, a scale that has alarmed some architectural experts who initially supported the idea of an arch but expected a far smaller one.
The planned Independence Arch is intended to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary. Built to Trump’s specifications, it would transform a small plot of land between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery into a dominant new monument, reshaping the relationship between the two memorials and obstructing pedestrians’ views.
The president doesn't seem interested in the smaller plans, which were still substantial.
Trump has considered smaller versions of the arch, including 165-foot-high and 123-foot-high designs he shared at a dinner last year. But he has favored the largest option, arguing that its sheer size would impress visitors to Washington, and that ‘250 for 250’ makes the most sense, the people said.
Here's what that arch may look like:
Heck yes. pic.twitter.com/pUpf9AZ9eF
— Ward Clark (@TheGreatLander) January 31, 2026
Because America.
Read More: Coming Soon: DC's New Arc de Trump
For the record, the French Arc de Triomphe stands about 164 feet tall. Berlin's Brandenburg Gate, a similar triumphal arch, is about 85 feet tall. These measures are approximate because France and Germany use Euro-weenie metric measurements, not good, honest American feet and inches, to measure their monuments.
When it comes to triumphal arches, we can hardly let France and Germany show us up. We have to note only to match them, but beat them, decisively so.
There are those, of course, who are not enamored of the plan.
“I would be very concerned about the scale,” said Calder Loth, a retired Senior Architectural Historian for the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, warning that a 250-foot-high arch could alter pedestrians’ views as they approach Arlington National Cemetery from Washington. “It would make Arlington House just look like a dollhouse — or you couldn’t see it all, with the arch blocking the view.”
These are legitimate concerns, but I think there's a larger purpose being served here. It's the 250th anniversary of our nation's independence. It's a big deal. We won't see a similar landmark date for another half a century. I was a kid, 14 years old, on the day of our Bicentennial, and I'm a pretty gray-haired old coot now. I won't be around for the nation's tricentennial, although my grandkids will be.
I'd like to see this quarter-millennia of America recognized and celebrated in American style. Go big or go home. Go with the 250-foot arch to commemorate 250 years of the best country, the greatest country in the history of humankind. It should be commemorated on the appropriate scale.
Editor's Note: President Trump is leading America into the "Golden Age" as Democrats try desperately to stop it.
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