U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Friday that his administration has officially submitted plans to build a victory arch in Washington, D.C. Trump described the arch as «the greatest and most beautiful in the world» and said it would be a «wonderful addition» to the capital area. In his post on the Truth Social platform, he wrote: «I am pleased to announce that today my administration has officially submitted the proposal and plans to the prestigious Commission of Fine Arts to build the greatest and most beautiful victory arch in the world.» Critics questioned the feasibility of the project and warned of its exorbitant costs. According to the plans presented by the Commission of Fine Arts, the arch will stand 76.2 meters tall, surpassing the Angel of Independence in Mexico City by 9 meters, making it the largest structure of its kind in the world. It will also push the Pyongyang Arch of Triumph into third place. The gold-adorned arch will tower over the 30-meter-tall Lincoln Memorial on the other side of the Potomac River and will be clearly visible from Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, where many American soldiers who fell in battle are interred. The designs show a gilded statue of a winged goddess of liberty, flanked by two eagles, on top of the arch. Inscribed on either side of the Parisian-style arch are the phrases «One Nation Under God» and «Liberty and Justice for All.» Trump, who was one of America's most famous real estate developers before entering politics, stated that the project will be built to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States and its declaration of independence from Britain in 1776. The height of the Paris Arch of Triumph, completed in 1836, is about 50 meters. The arch is planned to be a traffic circle on the edge of the District of Columbia, where the Arlington Memorial Bridge leads to the Lincoln Memorial.
