US President Donald Trump on Monday shared a photograph of New Delhi’s India Gate on his social media platform Truth Social, describing the iconic monument as a “beautiful triumphal arch“ while highlighting his plan to construct the world’s “greatest” triumphal arch in Washington DC.
“India’s beautiful triumphal arch, our will be greatest of all,” Trump wrote alongside the image.
The post comes as Trump advances plans to construct a massive new triumphal arch in Washington DC to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence.
On Sunday, Trump said that he would like the triumphal arch in Washington DC to be the biggest one of all as he referred to the country as the biggest and most powerful nation. “For 200 years, they wanted to build an arch,” he said as he spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One.
He also noted that nearly 57 cities around the world already have triumphal arches, while Washington remained the “only major city” without one.
Trump’s triumphal arch
Trump unveiled plans for the massive triumphal arch in October last year. Previously, he had hinted that construction could begin within the next two months, although work has not yet started. “It’ll be great. Everyone loves it,” he said in a phone interview with Politico from his Palm Beach estate. “They love the ballroom too. But they love the Triumphal Arch,” he added.
Over recent months, Trump has also displayed renderings of the proposed arch in the Oval Office and stressed that the monument would be designed by “some of the best architects in the world.” He also confirmed that the structure would not surpass the height of the White House.
“I could have built a much bigger one, but I did not want it to be taller than the White House,” Trump said, adding that a government committee would be set up to oversee the project.
Notably, the design is loosely inspired by Paris’s Arc de Triomphe and is expected to be erected across the Potomac River from the Lincoln Memorial.
