Trump Justifies Arch as 'National Security'

Trump aims to leave a physical legacy in D.C., bulldozing norms along the way

(AFP via Getty Images)President Trump has spent much of his second term trying to make his physical mark on Washington, D.C., earning — or perhaps awarding himself — the moniker of "builder-in-chief." "The best thing I do in life is build," he told reporters in May. Trump tore down the East Wing of the White House to build an even bigger ballroom (and military complex underneath). He built a helipad on the South Lawn after separately paving over…

‘National security’ is Trump’s catchall excuse as he tries to turn DC into a fortress

The Trump administration is leaning into national security arguments to remake parts of Washington in line with the president’s fancy and to create a buffer around him. Either the administration is legitimately worried about armed invasion, nervous about an attack at a time when the president has started one war and ordered the kidnapping of another country’s president, or it’s looking for justifications to spend taxpayer money on President Dona…

Trump justifies Arch as 'national security'

President Trump justifies nearly everything he is doing, including his newest plans to build a 250-foot Triumphal Arch housing munitions directly across from the Lincoln Memorial, as doing it for "national security."

'Clearly ludicrous': Ex-GOP congressman torches Trump's defense of D.C. arch

Former Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger ripped into President Donald Trump's claim that the triumphal arch has a national security purpose.On Friday, Kinzinger appeared on CNN to discuss Trump's claim that the arch will house snipers on its roof, giving it a national security purpose. Kinzinger, a veteran, said the idea is obviously far-fetched."It's clearly ludicrous, and I think everybody knows that," Kinzinger said. "It's almost like whe…