In an interview with New York Magazine published in early September 2026, Trump was asked about the building projects reshaping official Washington, among them the 250-foot “triumphal arch,” and whether he was putting up monuments to himself. He did not dispute it.
“That's true,” he said. “Nobody will do it once I'm gone. When I leave here, nobody will.”
The remark followed a jab from Sen. Jon Ossoff, who had suggested the president was fixated on monuments because no one would honor him after he left office.
The projects are real and moving. The administration is set to break ground on the arch, near Arlington National Cemetery, within about two weeks. Trump has been closely involved in the White House ballroom, which he has defended partly on national security grounds, citing a planned drone port on the roof, an underground bunker and bulletproof windows. Told that some people had advised against sitting for the interview at all, he said, “A lot of people said, 'Don't do this interview.' But I'm proud of the work I'm doing,” and said of the ballroom that “the people should be thankful.”
The political discomfort is inside his own party. Congressional Republicans and some of Trump's own advisers told the magazine that continued attention to the ballroom could hurt Republicans in the midterms. A person close to Trump told CNN earlier in the year that the appeal is permanence: “Look at Donald Trump's life, look at what he's done: Built things that no one will ever tear down.” Policies can be reversed by a successor. A building is harder to undo (see Public Citizen: Trump's Ballroom Donors Won More Than $50 Billion in Federal Contracts in Six Months, With Lockheed Alone Getting $43.8 Billion).