 Interactive map of Memorial Circle arch | |
| Location | Washington, D.C. |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 38°53′8″N77°3′36″W / 38.88556°N 77.06000°W /38.88556; -77.06000 |
| Type | Triumphal arch |
TheMemorial Circle arch is a proposedtriumphal arch which would be located onColumbia Island inWashington, D.C.[1] The site is atraffic circle on Memorial Drive between the end of theArlington Memorial Bridge andArlington National Cemetery named Memorial Circle. It is directly across thePotomac River from theLincoln Memorial at the west end of theNational Mall.[2][3]
Proposed by PresidentDonald Trump, some media have referred to the arch as the "Arc de Trump" (a play onArc de Triomphe).[1][2][3] Its purpose is reportedly to celebrate theUnited States Semiquincentennial.
Duncan G. Stroik, an architectural professor at the University of Notre Dame, noted after being appointed in 2019 to theUnited States Commission on Fine Arts by PresidentDonald Trump, that thetraffic circle should have something in the middle of it. As a gateway to Washington, DC, the large traffic circle should have something that "would be very noteworthy — and it should be beautiful”. He said that theAmerica’s 250th anniversary presented an opportunity that could be fulfilled by atriumphal arch.[2]
In an April 2025 article titled "Washington Needs an Arch", in theconservative publicationThe American Mind, art critic Catesby Leigh detailed the impact that an arch would have on the axis of monuments on theNational Mall. Leigh also observed that Washington D.C. is the "only major Western capital without a monumental arch."[4]
On October 15, 2025, Trump showed reporters in the Oval Office a model sitting on his desk of a proposed arch he wished to build. CBS reporterEd O'Keefe asked him "Who is it for?" Trump replied, "Me. It's going to be beautiful." O'Keefe then asked if it would be called "The Arc de Trump?", a nickname that was immediately adopted by the media.[1][5]
Later that evening, guests were shown three differently scaled models of the arch at a dinner in the White House'sEast Room for donors to theballroom expansion to theWhite House,[6] the largest of which would reportedly dwarf the iconic structures closest to it, including theLincoln Memorial.[7] The large arch, which Anastasia Tsioulcas, writing forNPR, said was evocative of theneoclassical style favored byGeorge Washington andThomas Jefferson, would be surmounted by two eagles and a golden winged figure,[7][8] which was described by Trump as representingLady Liberty.[9]
During the aformentioned dinner, Trump stated construction of the arch would be completed in time for the 250th anniversary of the United States. He also said that it was "fully financed", and that some of the funds left over from the ballroom project would be used to fund the arch.[3]
Journalists leaving an Oval Office event Wednesday asked the president who the proposed arch would be built for. He replied: 'Me.'"
