OH, THIS IS GONNA STING!!!

[AverageOldGuy]

Heather Cox Richardson minces no words.

https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/may-23-2026

President Donald J. Trump’s proposed triumphal arch would sit at a rotary on the Virginia side of the Arlington Memorial Bridge between Arlington National Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

The proposed arch obscures the Lincoln Memorial, built to honor the president who steered the country safely through the Civil War, but perfectly frames Arlington House, the mansion built by enslaved Americans and once owned by Confederate General Robert E. Lee. The arch does not frame the nation’s honored dead, but frames instead the home of the man who led the armies of the Confederacy that killed them.

[dalton99a]

1. Kick

[Goonch]

2. ;-{)........

[ChicagoTeamster]

12. Just ask DJTJ

[Totally Tunsie]

26. Goonch, you're amazing

[kentuck]

3. A thoughtful leader...

no one ever said.

[Raven123]

4. Gee. I thought Trump was proposing a McDonald's

I assumed that was what he meant when he talked about arches. After all they are known as “Golden Arches” and McDonald’s sells hamburgers. The perfect Trumpian motife.Thought it was a two-fer.

[CTyankee]

15. "hamburders"

[Raven123]

22. Thank you for the correction!

[bucolic_frolic]

5. Not a coincidence. /nt

[malaise]

6. Ding ding

We have a winner

[liberal N proud]

7. Apropos for this regime

They have a record of promoting racism

[Attilatheblond]

8. Yep, the Biggest Chickenhawk keep throwing red meat to the 'South Will Rise Again' insurrectionists

And we KNOW somebody else came up with this one because Trump doesn't know squat about history or symbolism.

[sop]

9. The GOP needs to change its name to the Neo-Confederate Party.

[karynnj]

10. Those observations are very interesting.

One question I have is if Virginia could stop it as it is in Virginia.

[paleotn]

13. Good question.

Unfortunately, the round about in question is on Columbia Island in the Potomac and technically in DC. Virginia doesn't start until you cross the Boundary Channel from Columbia Island.

[ChicagoTeamster]

11. Trump didn't come up with these ideas on his own. He's being directed by Putin along with other American sellouts who

see Putin and Trump as white Christian saviors. The Heritage Foundation is among them. Funny thing is if Xi or MBS offered Trump enough money he would sell the rest of them out.

[paleotn]

14. And not only that...

The straight line from the Lincoln Memorial, across the Arlington Memorial Bridge, leads straight to the Military Women's Memorial at Arlington. The arch monstrosity is interposed between it and DC. That might not be a coincidence.

[relogic]

17. "coincidences" indeed

They are getting too frequent to ignore and seamlessly meld into whatever narcissistic notion enters the empty soul that sits in Washington on a orangish, gold throne only he may squat upon. It’s no secret the globulous jelly inside that ☠️ is only useful to him.

[TygrBright]

18. We may be able to fund part of the cleanup...

...by investing in a number of sledgehammers, and charging people $20 a blow on the abomination.

I'm quite positive that while sledgehammers are relatively ineffective as demolition tools, like water wearing away a stone there would be enough blows to bring it down, and pound it into dust.

And the cash generated could go into restoring the damage at the reflecting pool, the Rose Garden, etc.

It's an idea, anyway...

creatively,
Bright

[Pesky1]

27. Oh you mean the "Arch...

...rather than tearing down the Bastille.

[mjvpi]

28. Free hammer with air and hotel discount packages.

[calimary]

32. I've said it before, here. And I still mean it.

I would love to see Jackie Kennedy’s Rose Garden restored, and celebrated yet again. The public thought she was IT when it came to good and elegant taste.

And one other thing:
She was IT when it came to the handling of JFK’s assassination coverage and aftermath. Jackie had it her way. She was responsible for his state funeral being classy, memorable, historic, and deeply moving for an America in shock that pretty much shut down, that weekend. And so tasteful! So understated. The coverage was BEYOND compelling.

I watched it all weekend. I think I was 10. I was transfixed. I remember the statement she made with her black skirted suit. Lots of admiring commentary about that. AND how well-behaved little Caroline and John-John were, standing with all the grownups, dressed in their Sunday best. That made such a huge impression on my mom, who watched a lot of it with me. Even as a little kid, I knew this was something pretty doggone earth-shaking in U.S. history. This was the biggest big deal I’d ever seen in the news. I knew every detail mattered, excruciatingly.

[TygrBright]

33. Some of my most vivid early memories also...

I remember being charmed that kids my age were living in the White House. Pictures of JFK in the Oval Office, playing with "John-John" (as he was styled then) and Caroline made it seem as though the First Family was, well.... a family. It was a compelling blend of accessibility, idealism, and pragmatic compromise - above all, the ADULTS were in charge.

But they weren't the old fuddy-duddy adults from the previous administrations. These adults were part of the mainstream of young families working to take advantage of the booming economy, make sense of the Cold War and its risks, and push on to a more perfect Union with rights and opportunities for all. People like my parents could see themselves in the Kennedy Administration mirror, and believe that the future would be better for them and their children.

And then, when it was all shut down, the dignified grieving that Jaqueline Kennedy quietly led the nation through resonated with all of us as we processed an attack on who we believed we were. It imbued us with a determination to transcend that attack and carry those goals and values forward even against the rising tides of antiliberal, reactionary proto-fascism.

Unfortunately, the emphasis on idealism was swamped by the power of the military-industrial complex Eisenhower warned us against, and the rise of the moneyed technocrats and their useful idiot enablers stopped too many important efforts in their tracks, and led us into a swamp of bread and circuses...

sadly,
Bright

[multigraincracker]

19. We need to put up monuments to Gen. Grant

all over the South on Federal properties.

[liberalla]

23. I like this idea!

Let them learn some accurate history! and get kicked in their butts with REALITY!

[Wednesdays]

25. Yup. Sherman, too.

I'm sure they would absolutely love that.

[Martin68]

20. Trump also wants to restore a statue honoring Confederate soldiers to the Arlington Cemetery.

[bmichaelh]

21. Lee did nothing to stop slave hunts

Lee did nothing to stop slave hunts during the Civil War.

When Confederate troops went north of the Mason-Dixon line, they would send Black men, women and children back into slavery; some had never been slaves.

Also, Lee was given the opportunity by Lincoln to be head of the Union army but he refused.

[liberalla]

24. HCR is wonderful at connecting dots and putting things in perspective

between our American history and the current day circus events.

[Trueblue1968]

29. I hope someone sues DonOLD Rump over this.

[Ford_Prefect]

30. Burn it Down and deliver the remains to Merd-a-lago!

[usonian]

31. I've got your triumphal arches RIGHT HERE.