Donald Trump reveals plans for ‘giant’ new monument and it looks very familiar

Donald Trump has unveiled plans for his latest project - a brand new monument to celebrate America's 250th anniversary next year.

And if you've ever been to Paris, there's a chance it might look quite familiar to you.

The US president, 79, announced the unexpected news during a White House dinner on Wednesday (15 October), revealing he's planning the construction of a large monument in Washington DC. He made the declaration in the East Room, in front of a room full of donors responsible for pumping money into the upcoming new $200 million White House ballroom.

The guest list, which was reportedly obtained by the Wall Street Journal, included representatives from Amazon, Apple, Google, and Microsoft.

Trump said: "We have a lot of legends in the room tonight, and that’s why we’re here to celebrate you because you’ve given tremendous amounts of money to see a ballroom built for the first time at the White House."

But as we say, the ballroom seemingly wasn't enough as the Republican leader also shared that he's working on a second construction project - the aptly-nicknamed 'Arc de Trump'. Speaking to the room, he pulled out a model of a giant arch and announced it would be built across from the Lincoln Memorial at the entrance of the Arlington Memorial Bridge.

He said: "That's Arlington Memorial Bridge. And at the end of it, you have a circle that was built 150 years ago. You have two columns on one side, two columns on the other, yet in the middle, just a circle.

"And everyone in the past had said something was supposed to be built there. But a thing called the Civil War interfered. That's a good reason."

He added: "Every time somebody rides over that beautiful bridge to the Lincoln Memorial, they literally say something is supposed be here. We have versions of it… This is a mock-up."

As per the BBC, Trump said there were three potential version of the arch, small, medium and large, but that he liked the largest one the best. As for cash, he said the ballroom has been 'fully financed' and so some of the leftover money would be used to fund the arch. It's yet to be revealed when construction will begin or how much it will cost.

Before the event began on Wednesday, a journalist reportedly noticed the model arch on Trump's desk and asked the president what it was.

The monument is inspired by the Arc de Triomphe in Paris (Bloomberg/Getty Images)

"It's an arch…It's going to be built," he replied, as per MailOnline, as he added: "For me!"

If you haven't already noticed, the president wants the arch to be based on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris - an already iconic and very similar structure. The news of the new project has sparked backlash online, especially amid the ongoing US government shutdown.

One Twitter user penned: "Just what we need - more unnecessary, wasteful spending when the government is shut down.

"Build a ballroom, build an arch - no problem. Provide lower income taxpayers with subsidies so they can purchase health insurance - f**k you."

Asecond added: "Trump: We need to make drastic cuts to spending, crack down on waste and reduce the national debt.

"Also Trump: Let’s build a massive triumphal arch."

And a third agreed: "There's money for this, but not for basic health care. No one hates America more than the Republican party."

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