Paul Goldberger, The New York Times’ Pulitzer Prize–winning architecture critic, warns that President Trump’s proposed Washington projects—most notably a 250-foot, nine-figure "Arc de Trump" and a 90,000-square-foot East Wing ballroom—could permanently reshape the capital. A National Park Service Section 106 review found nearly 40 landmarks that the arch could obscure, and proposed revisions to preservation rules could lower the bar for judging negative impacts. The East Wing ballroom has been halted by a D.C. Circuit order, while earlier projects such as a $16 million Reflecting Pool overhaul and a $7.5 million Eisenhower Building painting plan have sparked criticism.
NYT Critic Warns Trump’s Washington Projects Could Permanently Reshape the Capital
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The New York Times has issued a stark warning about President Donald Trump’s sweeping plans to remake Washington, D.C. In a Sunday column, Pulitzer Prize–winning architecture critic Paul Goldberger, 75, delivered a blistering critique of several high-profile projects that he says could permanently alter the capital’s historic skyline and civic landscape.
An artist's impression of the 'Arc De Trump' that the president wants to build, which he posted online. / Truth Social
Arc de Trump: A Monumental Proposal
Goldberger singled out the proposed "Arc de Trump," a gilded arch modeled on Paris’s Arc de Triomphe that Mr. Trump is seeking to build at Memorial Circle before his term ends in 2029. The design is projected to rise to about 250 feet and carry a nine-figure price tag, dwarfing the 99-foot Lincoln Memorial across the Potomac and, in Goldberger’s view, risking a dramatic reshaping of the city.
A protester in a frog costume holding a
“It would be an unavoidable monument to a presidency and a man whom many Americans would rather not honor so conspicuously, if at all,” Goldberger writes, arguing that the project’s scale makes it uniquely dominant.
Threats to Historic Views and Protections
A National Park Service review under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act identified nearly 40 historic landmarks in and around Washington that the arch could obscure. Goldberger cautions that proposed changes to Section 106 under the current administration would raise the threshold for defining a project’s negative impact—changes he calls a potential “wrecking ball” to the preservation movement nationwide.
Trump often talks about the ballroom and shows renderings of it to anyone who will listen. / Kevin Lamarque/REUTERS
East Wing Ballroom: Legal Roadblock
Goldberger also highlighted a planned 90,000-square-foot East Wing ballroom—an approximately $400 million project sited where the White House’s East Wing once stood. Construction was ordered halted by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit; the administration has about 14 days to seek Supreme Court review to resume work while litigation continues.
Other Controversial Renovations
Other projects have drawn criticism for cost and execution. A Reflecting Pool renovation meant to be painted American-flag blue instead became a $16 million disappointment marked by algae and peeling paint. A proposal to paint the 19th-century Eisenhower Executive Office Building white to match the White House is estimated to cost at least $7.5 million, which Goldberger warned could leave the historic structure “effectively ruined.”
According to White House correspondent and Regime Change co-author Maggie Haberman, roughly 70 percent of the president’s focus is now devoted to renovations and capital projects. The Daily Beast has sought comment from the White House.
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