WASHINGTON, D.C. — Dozens of activists gathered at Memorial Circle in Washington, D.C., at rush hour Thursday to protest the 250-foot-tall arch that President Trump wants to build there. Veterans, retirees and lawmakers spoke out — against its scale, its cost, its lack of Congressional approval, its gaudiness, its intrusion on nearby Arlington National Cemetery and more — next to a mockup made of tarp. The real arch, they said, would be 32 times taller.
"It's the wrong monument, in the wrong place, at the wrong time, dedicated to the wrong man," said Jon Gundersen, a retired Army veteran and former Foreign Service officer who is one of the Vietnam War veterans suing the Trump administration over the arch. Gundersen traveled from South Carolina to speak at Thursday's protest, which was billed as "Vets over Vanity. It was organized in part by Public Citizen, the group leading that lawsuit.
He told NPR that it was "heartening" to see so much support for their cause. "Anyone I talk to, whether Republican or Democrat, they say it's a waste of money and it's not how you honor vets," he said. Many speakers were especially concerned about the impact of an arch towering over nearby Arlington National Cemetery, and criticized the lack of input from veterans and gold star families in the process.
"I am pissed that the five-time draft dodging coward of a commander-in-chief sitting over there in the White House dares to dishonor the men and women of this country who have put on her collars and sacrificed and served and now lay at rest in the hallowed grounds of Arlington National Cemetery," said Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., who said she and her husband will join them one day. The White House has told NPR that the arch will "enhance the visitor experience" at the cemetery and serve "as a visual reminder of the noble sacrifices borne by so many American heroes." But Duckworth and others say a better way to honor veterans would be to spend money on improving services for them, not on a triumphal arch with an observation deck.
"Imagine tourists coming up to this arch looking at the 24 to 27 funerals up there in Arlington," Gundersen said. "It's not only wrong and inappropriate, it's obscene and should never [be] done." During the half-hour of rapid-fire speeches, the crowd burst into loud applause, sporadic chants of "no arch!" and, at one point, a coordinated rendition of We Shall Overcome. Cyclists and commuters passing by offered supportive waves and honks.
Planes flew overhead every few minutes, a constant reminder that the arch would stand along the approach of one of the nation's busiest airport runways. Several of the speakers addressed the aviation safety concerns raised by the arch and by Trump's recent announcement that the structure will house military drones and snipers. "Who are the snipers going to shoot — the families at the graves or the tourists at the Lincoln Memorial?" Rep.
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