Trump’s $100 Million Arch Mock-Up Buckles at State Fair as Vinyl Wrinkles and Separates
Updated
Updated · The Daily Beast · Jun 28
Trump’s $100 Million Arch Mock-Up Buckles at State Fair as Vinyl Wrinkles and Separates
3 articles · Updated · The Daily Beast · Jun 28
Summary
Fairgoers on the Freedom 250 Ferris wheel spotted the mock-up of Trump’s planned triumphal arch already wrinkling and pulling apart, with its vinyl skin separating from the wooden frame.
The failure hit at Trump’s sparsely attended Great American State Fair, where the arch display was meant to promote a 250-foot monument in Washington estimated to cost $100 million.
Planning documents show the full project would require 20-hour workdays for two to three years and cranes up to 320 feet tall, even as the National Capital Planning Commission still has concerns.
Nearly 2,000 public comments on the monument were reported as almost entirely negative, with critics calling it wasteful and veterans groups objecting to its proximity to Arlington National Cemetery.
The arch problem adds to a string of Trump project setbacks, including algae and peeling paint at the $16 million Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool renovation and cancellations, outages and thin crowds at the fair.