Arlington, VA—Organizers from the Third Act DMV Chapter and several Veterans displayed banners and erected a giant Triumphal Arch replica next to the Lincoln Memorial over Memorial Day weekend. It’s purpose was to demonstrate plans to build a giant arch, which they say is posing as a memorial for the 250th anniversary, but is actually intended to honor Trump himself. They also erected banners reading “86 Trump’s Arch” and “Arch Insanity.”
Last Thursday, May 21, the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, the committee that Trump himself appointed, approved the 250 foot arch, despite significant public pushback. The arch would overpower all of the 400,000 tombstones at Arlington National Cemetery, diminish the sanctity of its grounds, reduce its solemn purpose, and it would be visible from miles around. The arch would block or permanently occlude the view between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington House, the memorial to Robert E. Lee, and by design interrupt the symbolic meaning of the main Civil War protagonist and antagonist, and their subsequent reconciliation. It would also overshadow the Marine Corps Iwo Jima Statue Memorial, as well as the Arlington Bell tower which are located at the western side of Arlington National Cemetery. Only the tallest contrail of the U.S. Air Force Memorial would be higher, rising 20 feet higher than the projected arch.
At 250 feet from its base—not including the height of any pedestal it may rest upon, if any should result in the final design—it would be equivalent to the height of a 25 story building or higher, and intrude into the National Airport flight path. This would require a certain technical review and approval from the FAA.
But the short period between the announcement of the arch on October 15, 2025, and its rapid turnaround design approval has stirred the ire of Veterans who showed up for the permitted demonstration. The demonstrators had planned to stage their protest in Memorial Circle itself, the site of the Triumphal Arch, but their plans were preempted two weeks before by approval given from U.S. National Park Service to the architecture firm contracted to survey the site. Therefore Third Act-DMV applied for their permit to demonstrate across from the Lincoln Memorial near the Watergate steps. Third Act had made public its plans to hold a demonstration at Memorial Circle, so one is left wondering if the permit given to the architectural firm was also intended to gaslight the message of opponents.
The direct action group is labeling the arch a “vanity project” for Trump because he said to the press on October 15, 2025, during a fundraiser in the Oval Office, that the arch was being built in his own honor while showcasing a scaled white replica of the towering block. When asked by a member of the press who the arch was honoring, he said “Me. Going to be beautiful.”
Third Act-DMV Mobilizes Against Arch
On Sunday morning, just as an all-week rain was tapering, Third Act-DMV began setting up their banners and replica arch to greet the Rolling Remembrance motorcycle rally later that day. They also had plans to greet, not too warmly, Trump’s motorcade, which was scheduled to pass their side of the Lincoln Memorial on its way to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
But with any project there is always a snag. Once the replica arch was raised, someone noticed the apostrophe was misplaced after Trump’s name, so the team had to lower their arch for a moment to place the apostrophe correctly. The second time was the charm. The arch took a team of eight to raise it. The hanging banner reading, “86 Trump’s Arch,” would stand for about 2 days. Not only did the one dimensional replica mock the planned arch, it was also a dig at his Department of Justice’s prosecution of a criminal case against former FBI Director James Comey, for threats against Trump, who shared a photo of seashells spelling out “86 47.”
Later that day a group of demonstrators walked across Memorial Bridge to Memorial Circle in a silent dance to show their indignation for the arch. Other carried signs and many wore placards on their backs reading “Stop the Arch.”
Among the Veterans who were there was Bob Fasick, a Marine Corps radar technician who served on Okinawa during the Vietnam War. As a young Marine, he supported the Marines deploying and returning from their combat duty. Fasick recounted his experiences during the Vietnam War, and felt especially connected to Arlington National Cemetery and all of the honor it represents. He felt that the arch was a “disgusting“ use of taxpayer money at a time when many Americans are struggling financially. He also described the Arch as an affront to the service members interred at Arlington National Cemetery. He could recite by memory the heights of significant memorials as well as the number of interred service members for each war.
“The arch encapsulates just about everything that has gone wrong with the Trump regime,” said Fasick. “It’s corrupt in terms of the laws it is breaking. Procedures are supposed to be followed. The Commission for Fine Arts [members] were all appointed by Trump and they’re doing just what Trump wants,” he said.
Fasick pointed out that it would be “a ridiculous expense, our tax money. We can’t feed our people. We can’t house our people. We cannot provide decent education for many kids.”
Fasick noted that over 100,000 Veterans who fought and died during WWII were interred at Arlington National Cemetery. “What was that war about?” he asked rhetorically. “Fighting fascism. We’ve got fascism here now in the United States. [Trump] has absolute control because nobody is standing up and using their authority.”
An organizer from Third Act-DMV, Susan Douglas, who was one of many who helped plan and build some of the banners and illuminated signage, and using her own money, was technical in her assessment of the arch. She pointed out concerns with the project that was rushed into approval before critical studies were completed.
“It’s going to be a traffic nightmare. The soil is not conducive to the monstrous arch they’re building and the FAA has serious concerns [about its] complicated flight pattern in this area.” Douglas reiterated the insult it would be to Veterans and their families, a common concern with many who were involved in the demonstration.
The Arch Will Destroy The Preexisting Dogwood and Daffodil Preserve
Virtually lost to everyone there was the fact that Memorial Circle, which actually sits on an elongated island, is surrounded by the Potomac to its the North flank and the Boundary Channel at its south flank. Most do not know it is an island because it takes just minutes to transit by on their way into and out of Washington DC.
The island was previously dedicated as a nature preserve in honor of the environment by President Lyndon B. Johnson and Lady Bird Johnson. At the east end of the circle is a fading green bronze plaque, commemorating the dedication of Dogwood and Daffodil Plantings that were placed there in 1968, some 57 years ago.
It reads, “The Dogwood and Daffodil plantings on this island are dedicated to President and Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson who challenged America to make more beautiful the environment of its citizens.”
Just a stone’s throw from the Memorial Bridge are three dogwoods clustered together remaining of that planting. Further down a single dogwood remains by itself, the last of the trees. The daffodil garden still remains and already bloomed in the early Spring. The Triumphal Arch construction would erase all that too.
