Sign the petition: Do NOT glorify Trump with a giant arch in our nation's capital!
Dear MoveOn member,
As Trump undermines cultural landmarks like the Kennedy Center, defunds our museums and national parks, and censors our educational institutions, he is simultaneously aggrandizing himself. And his latest self-centered project? A 250-foot "Arc de Trump" near Arlington National Cemetery.1
The proposed arch is more than double the height of the 100-foot-tall Lincoln Memorial—a statue commissioned by Congress and erected three years after President Abraham Lincoln's assassination.2
Last Saturday, more than 8 million people took to the streets to say that in America, we have no kings. But Trump continues to act like one—insisting on glorifying himself. Add your name to the petition to oppose the construction of an arch in our capital!
The construction of the $100 million arch is not only self-centered in a time when millions of Americans are struggling to make ends meet, it's unlawful.
Democrats have sounded the alarm about the monument, flagging that the arch should not be built on federal land without approval from Congress.3 If Trump is allowed to move forward with this construction, who knows what else he will feel emboldened to build in his image?
Our nation's capital belongs to us—the people—not to Trump. We need to protect public spaces that tell the story of our nation and stop Trump from taking them over. Will you sign the petition?
Trump is branding the construction as "Independence Arch," but a group of veterans are calling it what it is—"a vanity project."4 Due to the lack of congressional approval, they've filed a lawsuit to block construction near the cemetery where 400,000 U.S. veterans are buried.5
From Democrats in Congress to veteran activists and MoveOn members like you, the opposition is mounting against Trump's arch, and we have the law on our side. The Commemorative Works Act makes it clear that any memorials constructed on federal land in Washington, D.C., need authorization from Congress.6 But we need to make sure that Congress hears us loud and clear and pulls the plug on this wasteful project.
Add your name to the petition and send a clear message that everyday Americans oppose Trump building an arch in our capital!
Trump said that taxpayer money wouldn't be used to build the arch, claiming that the millions in funds would come instead from private donors and corporations like tech companies—raising concerns about corruption and "pay-to-play" motivations. And we know that taxpayers would still be impacted—from the use of our roadways to other public services and goods that must function during such large-scale constructions.
Trump has failed to do anything to address inflation as everyday families struggle to afford groceries, housing, education, child care, and health care with skyrocketing costs. Instead, he's entangled us in forever wars that taxpayers fund and inflated the budget for Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to kidnap and abuse our neighbors. And now, he wants to prioritize vanity projects that glorify him instead of leveraging those connections and that access to funds to benefit the American people.
It's shameful.
There is mounting resistance to Trump's self-glorification. Just this week a federal judge ruled that Trump must stop construction on the White House ballroom until there is approval from Congress. Sign the petition and, together, we can build on this momentum and make sure that Trump's arch is never built.
Thanks for all you do.
–Aliya, Cheryl, Chris, Saskia, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "Democrats rip White House plan for 'Arc de Trump,'" Courthouse News Service, March 11, 2026
https://www.courthousenews.com/democrats-rip-white-house-plan-for-arc-de-trump/
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. "Vietnam Veterans sue to block proposed 'Independence Arch' near Arlington National Cemetery," NPR, February 21, 2026
https://www.npr.org/2026/02/21/nx-s1-5721786/vietnam-veterans-sue-trump-arch
5. "As Arlington Cemetery Scrubs The Links Of Black Veterans, Legacies Are Becoming Invisible — Even Mine," Forbes, March 18, 2025
https://www.forbes.com/sites/dougmelville/2025/03/18/as-arlington-cemetery-scrubs-the-links-of-black-veterans-legacies-are-becoming-invisibleeven-mine/
7. "Vietnam Veterans sue to block proposed 'Independence Arch' near Arlington National Cemetery," NPR, February 21, 2026
https://www.npr.org/2026/02/21/nx-s1-5721786/vietnam-veterans-sue-trump-arch
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